It was the March 23 six-alarm fire at the Glen Willow Apartments, 877 Willow St., that prompted the move. The fire caused 243 people to lose their homes and most of their belongings.

Yeager and David Schoonover, San Jose fire marshal, hope to change the city ordinance by requiring apartment owners to retrofit their buildings so similar fire damage is prevented in the future.

Yeager and Schoonover discussed their plans with a group of residents on Nov. 7 at the Bahá'í Center, 945 Willow St. The center was among the first to open its doors during the fire as a shelter for residents.

For many years, firefighters knew that the construction of the Glen Willow Apartments was a fire hazard, Schoonover said. Not only was the building difficult to access, with neighboring property blocking access to the East wing, but it also predated fire safety requirements such as alarm systems and sprinklers.

There was nothing officials could do legally to improve the safety of the apartments. Old buildings were not required to upgrade their fire code regulations. The Glen Willow Apartments were built in the 1960s.

Chabrant Way resident Diane Solomon, who was at the meeting, and her neighbors opened their homes the morning of the fire. The newly homeless told the neighbors that there were no alarms, sprinklers or lit exit signs to help them escape.

"We're lucky that a number of people didn't die," Schoonover said. "If the fire had been a different time of day or on a different floor, we probably would've lost people."

In May, Solomon and neighbors Betty Nichols, Stacy Scott and Mark Becker forwarded a petition with nearly 150 signatures to Schoonover, asking that he require the building's owners to install fire safety sprinklers, a fire-alarm system and emergency exit lighting during the rebuild.

Current code, however, does not require owners to include these items when they rebuild existing apartments because a fire is considered damage. Under the existing code, owners are only required to repair a building back to its previous standards.

These regulations afford no protection to San Jose residents living in older buildings that have been rebuilt due to fire, according to Yeager and Schoonover, so they are looking into revising the law.

This will require a unified effort, Schoonover said. Along with the neighbors, Schoonover and Yeager plan to work with the California Apartment Association Tri-County Division, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and members of the home insurance industry.

Preliminary research by the city shows that between 130 and 140 multi-story buildings with a central corridor in San Jose may be affected. If Yeager and Schoonover's efforts are successful, retrofit measures may include hard-wired smoke detectors in apartments, smoke detectors in corridors tied to an alarm system for the entire building, and doors and stairwells with barriers to contain fires. Sprinkler systems are also an option, but they are costly, Schoonover said.

"We want something that's going to make a difference," Yeager said.

Many of the neighbors agreed.

"You have our support," said Solomon, after Schoonover explained what he was trying to do. "If you need 10,000 signatures, we will get it."

The officials also used the meeting to answer questions regarding the vacant apartment complex. Yeager said all displaced residents have found housing.

Schoonover debunked the popular rumor that the fire began in a methamphetamine lab. He did confirm that the fire began on the third floor of the east wing. The fire is still under investigation by the San Jose Fire Department and Santa Clara County Arson Task Force.

The departments still have a number of questions for the individual who was in the apartment when the fire began. But Schoonover said, "He seems to have disappeared."

The owners, Shockowitz Family Limited Partnership, plan to strip the east wing down to its studs on all three floors and rebuild.

"If we can get it closer to safer than we started, then I'll be happy," Schoonover said.