Workers Flee Fire on Roof of Staples Center

An electrical extension cord stretched across the roof of the Staples Center was blamed Monday for sparking a fire that sent 700 construction workers fleeing from the partially built sports arena south of downtown Los Angeles.

There were no injuries, and officials said the rooftop blaze, which caused $25,000 to $50,000 in damage, would not delay the October opening of the $360-million complex at 1111 S. Figueroa St.

Bundles of foam insulating panels awaiting installation atop the steel roof were destroyed, and several sections of thick corrugated metal beneath them were buckled by the fire, officials said.

But the 8 a.m. blaze apparently did not damage steel I-beams beneath the roof, or a circular concrete collar that holds the 140-foot-tall, oval-shaped arena together, said Kevin Murphy, senior vice president for development at Staples Center.

Construction crews, which have been working two shifts, six days a week to complete the arena before its scheduled Oct. 23 opening, managed to pull dozens of the 4-foot by 8-foot insulating panels away from the fire before being forced off the roof.

Firefighters on the ground used a nozzle attached to the end of a 100-foot aerial ladder to spray water onto the roof until others could hoist hoses to the roof with ropes.

It took about 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, as 10 firefighters carefully made their way across the half-built roof, which is 160 feet above the arena’s recessed basketball court level.

“It was a little treacherous,” said Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Pete Benesch, one of the first firefighters on the scene.

The smoky fire slowed morning rush-hour traffic on the adjacent Harbor Freeway and drew spectators to office windows in the nearby downtown high-rise district.

Large clumps of ashes from the burned foam insulation floated down on the Los Angeles Convention Center, which is next to the Figueroa Street arena.

Forklift operator Eric Guinney was unloading equipment for an electronics trade show when he saw the fire erupt.

“A guy was welding and we saw little flames. Then we saw the guy running away with his welding tank,” Guinney said. “But the workers didn’t panic. They were acting like nothing was going on.”

Those evacuated included a dozen employees of Cosco Fire Protection Co., which is installing fire sprinklers in the arena. “It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it?” said one worker as colleagues passed the time eating from a catering truck parked across from the burning arena.

Democratic Party officials who are considering holding their national convention at the arena next year were notified that the fire was minor even as firefighters were mopping up.

The local Democratic host committee was on a conference call with them when the fire broke out, said Michael Roth, a spokesman for Staples Center.

Roth said arena owners are conducting their own investigation into the cause of the fire, despite the fire officials’ conclusion that an electrical cord started it.

After the fire was put out, burned remnants of the extension cord could be seen on the roof next to charred piles of insulation. Welding equipment was visible about 50 feet away.

In the arena below, water from the firefighters’ hoses seeped through the corrugated steel roof, dripping onto concrete tiers that will eventually hold seats and onto the dirt floor where the south basketball backboard will be.

Wayne Melnyk, construction manager for the arena’s contractor, PCL Construction Services, said the foam insulation had been scheduled to be installed on the roof starting Monday. A fire retardant, waterproof membrane goes on top of the insulation.