Delgadillo Proposes High-Rise Safety Bill
Los Angeles skyscraper owners can do little to prevent a major terrorist attack, but they can better prepare themselves and their tenants to respond to such a crisis, according to a new study released Thursday.
In response, City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo proposed an ordinance that would mandate drills, response plans and specially trained officials in every high-rise building.
“All of us understand that more practice is a good thing and practicing evacuations has proven to be very successful,” he said. “It’s certainly something we need to move forward on right away, rather than waiting for a lot of public discourse on it.”
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast, the city attorney’s office, along with other public officials and private entities, commissioned the Rand Corp. to study how to protect Los Angeles high-rises. The city is home to more than 800 high-rise buildings. Eighteen downtown are more than 500 feet tall, and one tops 1,000 feet.
Rand analysts concluded that L.A. appears to be less at risk than some other areas but that the city nevertheless presents opportunities for those seeking to do harm.
“In terms of the kinds of major icons of power and hegemony that the terrorists seemed to be targeting on Sept. 11, those things are largely concentrated in cities back east, and in Washington and New York in particular,” said Jack Riley, director of Rand’s public safety and justice research program. “Another factor that [works] in Los Angeles’ favor is we don’t have the same kind of concentration and population. We’re so spread out.”
Because so many types of attacks could be launched against buildings, Rand officials recommended that owners concentrate their efforts on response measures.
Among other things, authorities suggested that managers review evacuation plans to make sure they take into account lessons learned from the Sept. 11 tragedy. They also recommended updating threat assessments, maintaining understandable protocol, educating tenants and installing a mix of security features, from special landscaping to high-tech devices.
The study also recommended that government require or provide more training for high-rise occupants about emergency preparedness. And it suggested that the city and county make public buildings strong examples of security, provide oversight to private security firms, establish guidelines for reporting suspicious activity, and pay for research and evaluation of security measures.
Delgadillo said that after the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center, evacuation took six hours. After the terrorist attack last year, evacuation took 58 minutes, and 99% of the people below where the planes hit the towers survived.
“That’s attributable, in part, to all of the drilling and practice that occurred after 1993,” he said.
To make Los Angeles’ high-rise occupants equally well-prepared, Delgadillo proposed a new city law Thursday morning that would require owners of all buildings greater than 75 feet tall to:
* File an emergency plan with the Fire Department every six months.
* Have a fire safety director and floor wardens who receive annual training.
* Have occupants certified as community emergency response team members, with one member for every 500 building occupants.
* Perform evacuation drills at least twice a year.
* Require certain fire and safety personnel to be on site from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Violations of the provisions would be misdemeanors under the proposed ordinance, which requires approval by the mayor and City Council.
The bill is expected to be introduced today or next week.
