Inspectors Find Building Violations in South L.A.

A building inspection sweep prompted by the death of a veteran firefighter found that 18 out of 25 businesses in a South Los Angeles commercial district failed to meet fire safety and building codes, according to a report released Thursday.

Los Angeles Fire Capt. Joseph C. Dupee died March 8 after the roof caved in on him during a fire in a commercial building on Western Avenue near 60th Street. An investigation found fire and building code violations in the structure.

Since the death, firefighters have tackled two other blazes in the same neighborhood that fire officials described as “suspicious in nature.”

At the request of City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, a joint task force of building and fire safety inspectors launched an inspection sweep of businesses along Western Avenue near Slauson Avenue, in the same neighborhood where Dupee died.

The task force found that the city attorney’s office has already filed charges against the owners of six of the buildings for failing to meet fire safety regulations, according to a report by Chief Engineer William Bamattre. Inspectors found that 12 other buildings had violated building safety codes, the report said.

Inspectors found such violations as substandard wiring, faulty sprinkler systems, unsafe storage of flammable liquids and a lack of fire exits, according to fire officials.

In response to the inspection sweep, Bamattre recommended that the city’s Building and Safety and Fire departments continue to work closely to enforce fire and building regulations in the area.

Ridley-Thomas, who presented the report to a community gathering Thursday night, said he will continue to press city officials to ensure that safety codes are enforced.

“Tragedies such as the one that took Capt. Dupee’s life must be averted,” he said.

Dupee’s death was the department’s first fatality in 14 years. He was a 17-year veteran of the department and the father of two sons.