Fire Forces Seniors to Flee High-Rise

More than 200 residents were evacuated Wednesday from a 12-story senior citizen apartment complex on Sherman Way when a fire started in a seventh-floor unit.

The fire at the 199-apartment Fickett Towers started about 12:45 p.m. when an 82-year-old resident attempted to dry his clothing by hanging it over an upright halogen lamp, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The clothing caught fire and flames spread throughout his apartment, Humphrey said. The fire was confined to that apartment.

Eight people, including a firefighter, were injured in the blaze, Humphrey said. All but one of them were taken to area hospitals. The firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion and released, he said.

The 82-year-old resident was the most seriously injured, Humphrey said. He was in serious condition, having suffered from smoke inhalation and respiratory burns.

Eighty-five firefighters extinguished the blaze within half an hour. The fire caused $100,000 in damage to the building and $25,000 to its contents, Humphrey said.

Since the elevators were shut down, firefighters carried several elderly residents, some in wheelchairs, down the stairwells.

“We were very fortunate because it was lunchtime,” said Mitch Green, assistant building administrator. “About two-thirds of the residents were downstairs eating.” The Van Nuys independent-living apartment complex houses 254 residents.

Green said he expected most residents to return to their units later in the day, but other accommodations might be needed for residents of the sixth and seventh floors because of smoke damage.

Kay Markell was on the ninth floor when smoke started coming under her door. The 68-year-old wheelchair-bound woman was told help was on the way. When she heard bells alerting residents, Markell knew something was wrong.

“The only reason I was concerned was because I couldn’t get out on my own,” she said. “There was some light smoke, but I tried not to panic.”

Firefighters went from room to room evacuating residents. Most of the occupants congregated in a parking lot.

Glenrose Plesa rushed to the complex when she heard sirens. Her 77-year-old mother, Bea Wubker, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, lives in Fickett Towers.

“I called her on my cell phone and tried to calm her down. She came to the window and waved at me,” Plesa said.

Some residents complained that the building management was unprepared for a fire. Maury Monroe, 64, said no fire drills had been conducted to prepare for disasters.

“If they had a serious fire here, we would have lost a lot of people,” he said. “Most of the people have not had any training here on what to do. There’s no system or anything to help them.”

Monroe said he did not hear the fire alarms inside the building.

“My television was on and I didn’t hear it,” he said. “I didn’t even know the fire was going on until I saw the firetruck.”

Barbara Tiffany, 79, said she was not certain she was hearing a fire alarm. “It should be recognizable as something to pay attention to.” She added that high-rises should be equipped with sprinklers because it takes seniors longer to get out of such buildings.

But Green said all residents are told about safety procedures when they move in. Fire drills are held once a year, although Green acknowledged that the last one in January involved only staff members.

“To get tenants to participate in a fire drill is very difficult,” Green said. “The Fire Department did not require our residents to participate in a fire drill. In lieu of that, [tenants] have to attend a mandatory training session by the Los Angeles Fire Department.” Green said the department has not yet held that training session.

Each room in the complex is equipped with a smoke alarm, but the building does not have a sprinkler system because it predates current regulations, Assistant Fire Chief Bill Ward said.

“We are not required to have them,” Green said.

The location of the blaze in the 12-story building made firefighting efforts difficult.

“It was very difficult and very challenging,” Ward said. “We were fortunate to contain it quickly.”

Helping some residents find alternative accommodations were the Porter Ranch-based Shepherd of the Hills Baptist Church, which owns the building; the Church on the Way, across the street from the complex; and the American Red Cross.

It was the second fire in the last 16 years at the senior citizen complex.

In July 1984, a fire at a three-story condominium project under construction next door spread to Fickett Towers, destroying 14 units. Damage was estimated at $1 million. Arson was suspected in that fire, although no one was arrested.