Wright Office Fire Raises Fears That Safety Is Poor

A fire that damaged part of House Speaker Jim Wright’s offices raised concern Friday among some congressmen and local fire officials that historic Capitol Hill buildings are inadequately protected.

They said many lack even rudimentary fire protection equipment, such as alarms, sprinklers and hoses.

“How can we expect to set an example for the rest of the country in fire protection when we’re in the 18th Century ourselves?” Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said.

Weldon, former chief of the volunteer Fire Department in Marcus Hook, Pa., helped evacuate the 55-year-old Longworth House Office Building on Thursday evening after the fire hit Wright’s district office, a few doors down the hall from his. “This building is antiquated as you can get--no fire protection whatsoever, none, zero,” he said.

Federal buildings are exempt from local fire codes. The House office building where the fire started has no alarms or fire hoses and a new sprinkler system is not yet in operation.

But Capitol Hill managers assert that the congressional facilities in question exceed standard fire prevention measures and they say an $18.5-million improvement program is under way to put alarms and sprinklers in some of Capitol Hill’s 16 major buildings.

“I think we’re as safe as any place in the world,” said Elliott Carroll, executive assistant in the Capitol architect’s office. He said it is intentional that congressional buildings have no fire hoses because of fear that the hoses would eventually rot and be misused by “amateurs.”

Thursday’s fire, which started in electrical wiring in a copying machine, caused $10,000 in damage, and two Capitol police officers were treated for smoke inhalation. Texas Democrat Wright, who works mainly in another office in the Capitol, was not present when the fire broke out and no one else was injured.

Evacuation Called Chaotic

But Weldon, who is founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, said that with no set evacuation plan for Capitol Hill buildings, the fire prompted a chaotic exodus of workers.

“I wasn’t happy with what I saw (Thursday) night. There are serious and dangerous deficiencies in our fire protection that need to be addressed,” he said. “How can we criticize the high-rise in L.A. for inadequate fire protection when we’re not doing our job right?”

But Carroll said: “All of the buildings of the Congress are fireproof buildings. . . . They don’t burn easily and that was proven (Thursday) night. There’s no danger, in my opinion, that any damage could be done that could harm human beings.”

The Capitol building itself is scheduled to have smoke detectors and voice alarms installed. It now has sprinkler systems in the basement and attic areas but planners have rejected putting sprinklers in the main building areas that congressmen and the public frequent because the Capitol’s ornate air “should not be marred,” Carroll said.