Blaze Fuels Dispute Over Garment District’s Future

A downtown clothing factory that burst into flames Tuesday night quickly entered the fractious debate over the future of the city’s aging garment district, with backers of a proposed manufacturing complex arguing that the fire demonstrates the need for their project.

The Mercantile Center at 7th and Los Angeles streets suffered an estimated $300,000 in damage from the intensely hot fire, which swept through the eighth and ninth floors, injuring three firefighters and melting several of their helmets.

Arson investigators were at the scene Wednesday but had not determined the cause of the blaze.

Former City Councilman Arthur K. Snyder, a lobbyist for the massive garment factory planned at the old May Co. building a few blocks away, said the fire was “one more reminder to Los Angeles that we’ve got a dangerous situation in our midst.”

The proposed Broadway Trade Center at 8th Street and Broadway would be a much safer facility, said Snyder, who represents investors who bought the building for $25.5 million and have reportedly spent $5 million on improvements.

The owner of the fire-damaged building--who has strongly opposed the Broadway Trade Center--said he had been complying with a city order to correct safety problems and was in the process of installing fire sprinklers.

“The building was recently inspected and all of our violations are signed off,” said building owner Stanley Hirsch.

The garment district debate began to heat up in September when Mayor Tom Bradley vetoed a conditional use permit for the proposed garment center, contending that it would snarl traffic downtown and lure tenants away from other factories.

Last week, a coalition of community activists urged the City Council to override his veto, arguing that the 1-million-square-foot complex would provide badly needed jobs for thousands of unskilled laborers.

The building damaged in Tuesday’s fire was one of several structures whose alleged safety problems were clandestinely documented by supporters of the new complex. In an April report that Snyder presented to city officials, the Mercantile Center was accused of having flammable wood paneling in vestibule areas, improperly marked exits, doors that swing inward instead of out and a soda machine blocking a fire escape entrance.

But the private inspector who secretly entered the buildings to report the violations says he has disowned the final report, charging that it exaggerated dangers while failing to mention efforts to correct them.

“When I heard about the report, I said I won’t sign it or have any part of it,” said Mel Bliss, a retired city safety chief. “I regret this one quite a bit.”

A top safety inspector said Hirsch’s fire-ravaged building was one of more than 35 aging high-rises that city officials cited during a 1990 crackdown on garment factories. Jim Carney, chief inspector for the city Department of Building and Safety, said Hirsch had completed more than half of the ordered corrections, most of which dealt with inadequate exits and not fire hazards.

“They were making a good-faith effort,” Carney said.

There was no indication Wednesday that safety problems at the 12-story building were responsible for the 8:47 p.m. blaze, which was knocked down in less than two hours by about 175 firefighters.

One firefighter suffered second- and third-degree burns on his hands, another had burns on his ears and a third reported a sprained wrist. Two janitors who were in the building at the time had to be evacuated.

A family who identified themselves as the owners of the eighth-floor shop said they had recently invested $100,000 in the business. Many were standing in the street Tuesday night crying.

Among the first firefighters on the scene was Edward Riveros, 35. He said intense heat melted parts of his helmet, which is designed to withstand temperatures up to 460 degrees.

Times staff writer George Ramos contributed to this story.