"With the horror of the Marco Polo fire top of mind, it’s hard to imagine that there are people who want very much to be the ones charging into danger and risking their lives to save strangers."

Lee, is that what the firefighters did at Marco Polo?  I saw most outside unable to enter the building because they "did not have the proper equipment", according to the HFD spokesperson.  The question shouldn't be if we need sprinklers to make it safer for firefighters but why didn't HFD have the proper equipment to respond to a high-rise fire with so many condos under development.

Let's get one thing straight: people likely died because of the inadequate fire alarm and lack of an evacuation plan, not the absence of sprinklers.  Sprinklers mitigate property damage and control the fire until the firefighters can respond.  Sprinklers are not designed to extinguish fires, unless halon is the extinguishing agent.  Sprinklers also do not prevent smoke, which is likely what killed the individuals.