Sprinklers Ordered in 15 L.A. High-Rises

In the first application of the city’s new fire sprinkler law, Los Angeles fire and building officials have ordered the owners of 15 high-rise buildings to install sprinkler systems within three years.

Under the law that the City Council passed in July in response to the fire that crippled the 62-story First Interstate Bank building in May, city officials plan to inspect more than 340 high-rise buildings over the next six to nine months. City Fire Department officials said the First Interstate tower is among a group of the city’s tallest buildings that were recently inspected and ordered this week to install sprinklers.

“We are going by height, starting with the tallest buildings and working our way down,” said Los Angeles Fire Capt. Hugh Tucker, commander of the department’s high-rise inspection unit.

Tucker said that under the provisions of the sprinkler law, the 340 buildings that will be inspected are all taller than seven stories, are either commercial or industrial structures and were built before 1974.

Once fire inspectors have determined that a building is not in compliance with the sprinkler law, Tucker said, the Fire Department prepares an order, which is then served by a city safety inspector. From that point, the building has a year to furnish plans for the new sprinkler system and three years to install the system. In the case of the First Interstate building, plans would be due next November and work would have to be completed by November, 1991.

Several of the buildings already had sprinkler systems, Tucker said, but were ordered to submit new plans to ensure that their systems conform to the requirements of the city’s law. “Everyone will have to be in 100% compliance,” he said.

The First Interstate tower, for example, was ordered to modify a sprinkler system that was being installed when the building caught fire May 4. “Because it was under reconstruction, they are not in compliance,” Tucker said, adding that the owners of the building have been “very cooperative.”

BUILDINGS WHERE SPRINKLERS WERE ORDERED

Building Address First Interstate Bank tower 707 Wilshire Blvd. Union Bank Building 445 S. Figueroa St. City Hall East Building 200 N. Main St. Security Pacific Plaza Building 333 S. Hope St. Century Plaza tower 2029 Century Park East Century Plaza tower 2049 Century Park East Broadway Plaza 700 S. Flower St. World Trade Center 350 S. Figueroa St. Transamerica towers Between 11th and 12th Transamerica streets bounded by Transamerica Olive and Broadway Arco Plaza Tower 515 S. Flower St. Arco Plaza Tower 555 S. Flower St. Office building 606 S. Olive St. Office building 615 S. Flower St.

Building Number of Stories First Interstate Bank tower 62 Union Bank Building 42 City Hall East Building 18 Security Pacific Plaza Building 57 Century Plaza tower 44 Century Plaza tower 44 Broadway Plaza 33 World Trade Center 13 Transamerica towers 32 Transamerica 11 Transamerica 10 Arco Plaza Tower 51 Arco Plaza Tower 51 Office building 25 Office building 21