Hundreds of residents of a West Los Angeles high-rise remained out of their homes Thursday, the day after a fire erupted in the 25-story apartment building, injuring 13 people and raising questions about safety in some of the city’s biggest housing complexes.
One tenant filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, charging that Douglas Emmett Inc., the company that owns the building, had been negligent in failing to install sprinklers and make other fire safety improvements.“For years, tenants of Barrington Plaza Apartments have pleaded, warned and fought with Douglas Emmett ... about a seemingly straightforward issue: Barrington Plaza is unacceptably, illegally and fatally unsafe from fires,” the lawsuit contends.
Los Angeles police and firefighters said they had no new information on the cause of the fire, which spread quickly through the sixth and seventh floors after it began about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.Residents and Los Angeles officials said they were particularly disturbed because the same building caught fire in October 2013, leading to another mass evacuation and severe injuries to several residents. The complex also suffered another large fire and evacuation on New Year’s Day in 1971.
Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday signaled that he would like to find a way to have sprinklers installed in the high-rises.
Engineering that water weight after the fact? About 8 lbs per gallon Eric....
Of course this modification will just raise rents in an overpriced city.
I’m sure his program will be just as successful as his homeless one.
How is this not a required thing in 2020?
Just don't build buildings above 8 floors!
If you live in a building with more than three floors, do not accept no sprinklers and no alarms. Buy your own alarms and keep one in close proximity to sleeping areas.
Needed long ago. Shocked it isn’t standard
Wait? If we’ve learned anything from the movie Die Hard, LA skyscrapers DO have sprinklers? No?
Parking lot Gloves