Center Ordered to Fireproof or Else
Angry Los Angeles fire commissioners ordered the city Convention Center Authority on Thursday to make nine temporary structures at the center conform to fire safety standards or tear them down.
Deputy Fire Chief Craig Drummond said the structures, totaling 184,000 square feet and constructed during the last four years, “were all built in flagrant disregard of fire codes and without permits.” He said they do not have proper exits, fireproofing or emergency lighting and “could burn down in minutes with up to 10,000 people in there.”
Paul Estrada, assistant general manager of the convention authority, said: “We’re working as fast as we can to bring them up to code. . . .” If they cannot be made to meet building and fire standards, he said, “we’ll tear them down.”
The fire commissioners discussed a possible criminal investigation in the matter.
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