Pipe Rupture Creates Waterfall in Bank Tower

A break in an eight-inch pipe sent water cascading down a stairwell of a 16-story office building near 2nd and Figueroa streets in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday.

Damage to the south structure of Imperial Bank Towers was estimated at $50,000 by Fire Department Battalion Chief Richard Jioras. The break came below the roof and above the 16th floor about 10 a.m.

There were no reported injuries or structural damage and the tower was not evacuated. Hardest hit was Rogers & Wells, a law firm occupying the top two stories, where the water level at the core of the building reached 3 inches.

Attorneys kept working in their offices at the building perimeter, but supplies and word processors were soaked, the carpet was sodden and the ceiling still dripped by mid-afternoon.