City Hall East Cited for 480 Fire Code Violations

City Hall East, the main seat of Los Angeles government, was cited for 480 fire code violations last year, and officials have failed in the past to make sure problems were fixed, according to an audit released Thursday.

City Controller Rick Tuttle recommended a new process be created to alert the mayor and City Council of continuing problems to ensure that code violations on city property are addressed promptly.

“These violations, including broken fire doors, improperly fitted and sized fire hoses, and inappropriately stored items, could contribute to loss of life or property if not corrected promptly,” Tuttle wrote in a letter to Mayor Richard Riordan. “The key problem is there is no follow-up procedure to ensure code violations in city buildings are corrected.”

Officials said they have taken steps to make sure problems are addressed more quickly, including reassignment of workers to focus on maintenance of fire extinguishers.

“My staff knows very clearly that, regardless of what else they are working on, that these [problems] go to the top of the list,” said David Paschal, assistant general manager in charge of property management for the city’s General Services Department.

Tuttle asked Riordan on Thursday to order a reinspection as well as reports on continued violations to the mayor and City Council, who, Tuttle said, “have the authority to insist on compliance by city departments.”

The audit found City Hall East, City Hall South and the adjacent city mall tallied more than 870 code violations last year, including 393 for fire/life safety rules.

The 18-story City Hall East has been home for offices of the mayor, City Council, Fire Department and other key city agencies for the past three years while the historic City Hall building has been undergoing a $299-million renovation.

Among the problems found by auditors: 90% of the fire extinguishers in the two currently used City Hall buildings were not properly maintained, including many that were not periodically recharged as required by fire codes.

Since auditors inspected the extinguishers in October and notified building maintenance of the problem, the General Services Department has brought all of the equipment into compliance, Fire Battalion Chief Daryl Arbuthnott said.

There are 125 General Services Department workers responsible for maintaining more than 800 city-owned and city-leased buildings, and auditors focused on a sample of 20 structures.

Violations on private property often are subject to fines, but citations involving city property are not routinely referred to the city attorney for penalties because of a conflict involving the city prosecuting itself.

“Historically, we haven’t taken them to the city attorney because the city can’t prosecute itself and defend itself,” Arbuthnott said.

Because the Fire Department inspects all city buildings once a year, uncorrected violations can be caught again the following year, Arbuthnott said.

“The enormous number of code violations, 480 in City Hall East alone, gives the impression the Department of General Services has routinely allowed violations to occur and has not assigned staff to follow-up and correct these violations,” the audit concluded.

Although he pledged to make sure fire extinguishers are now all properly maintained, Paschal said City Hall South has an automatic sprinkler system that serves as the primary firefighting system. City Hall East is only partly covered by fire sprinkler systems, Arbuthnott said.