Reopening of Tower to Be Speeded With Fire Alarm Upgrade

Owners of the fire-ravaged First Interstate Bank Tower have agreed to install an upgraded fire alarm system as part of an arrangement that will let them reoccupy the 62-story downtown building quickly, Los Angeles fire officials said Thursday.

The partnership of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and UCB Realty Corp. that owns the building is also being asked to complete installation of a $3-million sprinkler system before any tenants are allowed to reoccupy the tower, fire officials said.

Officials told representatives of the owners that the return could be speeded up if they would agree to further upgrades of the fire alarm system beyond what is required by law, according to Fire Department Battalion Chief Kenneth Johnson.

The upgrades, officials said, do not have to be complete before tenants return, as long as the existing system is operable. Testing of the system is set to begin this weekend.

A building spokesman said owners expect to restore the existing fire alarm system and activate the sprinkler system next month.

The building at Hope Street and Wilshire Boulevard has been closed since a May 4 fire gutted five floors in a spectacular, late-night blaze. Many more floors suffered water and smoke damage, and tenants have been banned from re-entering, except for short visits to retrieve business records.

Tower owners have verbally agreed to the upgrading, although the exact timetable and specifications are still being negotiated, Johnson said. He does not expect a written agreement to be required, even though some fire officials privately acknowledged that the department may not have the authority to force the upgrade.

“We trust them. They have too much to lose,” Johnson said. “We will make them show us the beginning of their plans” for the upgrading.

“We are obviously going to work hand in hand with (fire) officials. It’s obviously in our best interests and the best interests of our tenants,” said Jerry Poppink, a spokesman for the partnership. “We are under a real strong magnifying glass.”

The upgrades will include additional smoke detectors, fire doors to enclose elevator vestibules and a third water pump for the sprinkler and water standpipes.

Work on the sprinkler system was 90% complete, but the system was not operating when the fire broke out. The First Interstate Tower was not required to have a sprinkler system because it was built before 1974.

The owners were doing the retrofitting voluntarily, and now the Fire Department is insisting that the system must be completed before tenants can return to the building.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department is also considering whether to press for misdemeanor charges in connection with possible Fire Code violations at First Interstate that may have contributed to the cause or spread of the fire.

“Was there a delayed alarm? Were the security people informed of what to do? Were they notified to call the Fire Department? Were there code violations,” said Capt. John Scherrei, the Fire Department liaison with the city attorney’s office, enumerating the key questions in the investigation.

One circumstance being investigated is whether an employee of the tower security company turned off a series of fire alarms during the fire.

The existing fire protection system was plagued with false alarms in the weeks preceding the devastating fire, security officials have said. Fire officials said that dust rising from construction of the sprinkler system may have been the cause of those false alarms. Johnson said that virtually all fire alarms are affected in that manner.