Owners Back Sprinkler Part of Safety Plan

A major organization of high-rise owners says it supports Mayor Tom Bradley’s call for mandatory sprinklers in older Los Angeles buildings but opposes the mayor’s companion fire safety ideas concerning elevator lobbies and stairways.

The Building Owners and Managers Assn., in a letter to Bradley’s office this week, also cautioned the mayor and City Council against rushing “to legislate without a calm, thorough review of all the information and lessons learned” from the May 4 fire at First Interstate Bank.

Bradley’s Proposal

Last Monday, Bradley proposed an ordinance to upgrade high-rises of 75 feet or taller that were built before July, 1974, when a state law requiring automatic sprinklers in new high-rises went into effect. In addition to sprinkler retrofitting, the mayor called for fire-resistant doors that would close on either side of an elevator lobby during a fire as well as rooftop ventilator holes for smoke to escape.

Building Owners and Managers Assn. Executive Director Geoffrey Ely said the organization “supports the development and implementation of a local ordinance which will provide for the retrofit of fire sprinklers in high-rise office buildings.”

“However, we firmly believe that effective enforcement and compliance of such a law is dependent upon reasonable and achievable policies,” Ely said. His organization represents owners of most downtown high-rises.

The organization said any sprinkler retrofitting ordinance should take into account factors such as the number of available installers, the additional cost of removing dangerous asbestos and unique building designs or construction characteristics that could hamper retrofitting. Disruption in temporarily relocating office tenants and possible tax credits or low-interest loans should also be considered, Ely said.

Bradley said he is opposed to providing any tax relief or loan breaks to help the estimated 520 high-rise buildings in the city meet any retrofitting requirements.

Cost of Retrofitting

The City Council is considering the mayor’s proposal as well as similar ones involving sprinkler retrofitting that have been made by Councilmen Nate Holden and Richard Alatorre. Earlier this week, Alatorre’s Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee learned that it could cost as much as $13 million to retrofit six city-owned high-rises with sprinklers.

Ely said Bradley’s proposal, based on recommendations of an emergency task force, was, “on the whole, consistent with (his organization’s) earlier discussions” with the city Building and Safety and Fire departments over the last two years.

But, he added, Bradley’s proposals concerning the elevator vestibules and the stair shafts went beyond earlier discussions and should not be required. Ely questioned the effectiveness of stair shaft ventilation holes and said elevator vestibule doors are required in older high-rises only when other major renovation is being conducted.

The support of the Building Owners and Managers Assn. and other business groups is considered important in any city decision to require retrofitting. In the past, the council has balked at ordering sprinklers installed in older buildings primarily because of business community opposition.