Wachs Seeks Report on Staples Fire Alarm System

City Councilman Joel Wachs on Tuesday called for a report from city fire officials on the status of Staples Center’s fire alarm system, which is still not working, even though the arena opened to the public more than three months ago.

Staples Center has been operating on a temporary occupancy permit pending completion of its alarm system. To ensure safety, the center has been paying six city fire inspectors to look out for danger at all public events.

Although there have been no problems so far, city fire officials say that inspectors must put off other duties to keep a constant “fire watch” at Staples. They are urging Staples to quickly finish work on the alarm system.

“Serious questions have arisen regarding whether this is a drain on Fire Department resources, which are needed for other functions, and whether the city is being reimbursed for the full and indirect costs,” Wachs wrote in his motion.

“According to the Fire Department, it is possible that the arena management could have been working more quickly on finishing the alarm system,” he added.

At Wachs’ request, fire officials will be asked to present their findings to the city’s Public Safety Committee.