1988 LA skyscraper fire. Arson? It didn't collapse. Photos.

by **Hugh Manatee Wins** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:22 pm

Some skyscraper fire history for all the 9/11 issues implied>> In examining the Ace Elevator update project at the WTC to see if it provided an opportunity to mine the building with thermate, I found a discussion board at Elevator World Magazine with links to two articles about a fire that destroyed 5 floors in a 62-story building in Los Angeles on May 4, 1988. Cause was never determined but the start was timed suspiciously just before completion of a building-wide sprinkler system and only a few minutes after the fire pumps were shut off in the building. Gee, what are the odds? The radio problem was realized, too. A mere 13 years before 9/11. From a division of FEMA, the United States Fire Administration: <blockquote>Quote:<hr>At the time the fire broke out the building's fire pumps had been shut down, and the risers had been drained down below the 58th floor to allow a sprinkler line to be connected to a standpipe riser. This job took only a few minutes and the jockey pump was in operation to refill the system when the sprinkler crews noted smoke rapidly filling the stairway. <hr></blockquote> Does it look like arson and financial cover-up to anyone else? 9/11 has lots of financial cover-up angles from the SEC files in WTC7 to the accountants at the 'what $2.3 trillion?' Pentagon. The First Interstate Bank fire in LA on May 4,1988 destroyed floors 12-16 with temperatures going up to "2000 degrees." And yet the 62-story building did not collapse. Yes, no plane damage but that heat with 50 stories of weight on it didn't cause bending and collapse, did it? Built in 1974.  <blockquote>Quote:<hr> * First Interstate’s 12th floor securities-trading room, which normally handles $3-$5 billion per day in transactions, was totally destroyed.<hr></blockquote> Hmm. Wonder if there was a big trading records purge here such as Andrew Grove claims happened at the WTC. The fire sprinkler system was being installed and was 95% complete. Fire started within minutes after the fire pumps in the building were SHUT OFF which hampered initial firefighting. Looks like carefully timed arson, too. The cause was never determined. Hmm... (Note the background message in this fire department photo of damage, "Jesus Saves.") <img src="http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/FEMA-TecReport/fema-42.gif" style="border:0;"/> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>INITIAL STAGES At 2222 on the night of the fire, the buildings two fire pumps were shut down by the sprinkler contractor, and the combination standpipe system was drained down to the 58th floor level to facilitate connecting the new sprinkler system to the standpipe at that level. Three minutes later, at 2225, employees of the sprinkler system contractor heard glass falling and saw light smoke at the ceiling level on the 5th floor. A manual alarm was pulled but sounded for only a few seconds. It is believed that the alarm was silenced by security personnel on the ground floor. At 2230, a smoke detector on the 12th floor was activated and was reset by security personnel. At 2232, three additional smoke detectors on the 12th floor were activated and were again reset by security personnel. At 2234, four smoke detectors on the 12th floor were activated and reset. ..... The first six arriving companies were sent immediately to attack the f i r e . The initial attack used primarily 2-inch attack lines. The attack was hampered by low water pressure for the first few minutes, until the building fire pumps were started. .... LESSONS LEARNED 1. Sprinkler system: Use the protection ASAP. The value of automatic sprinklers in quickly controlling fire and preventing fires of this magnitude must be emphasized. If the sprinkler system had been activated as floors were completed, the fire probably would have been controlled in minutes with minor damage.  .... 5. Communications within and from a steel frame building still can be a problem. The difficulties that were experienced with radio communications will require additional attention. An operation of this magnitude involves a high demand for communications capacity. In addition, the sound powered. telephone system was found to be inadequate (and completely compromised when the system wires melted). The Los Angeles City Fire Department is in the process of installing an 18 Channel 800 MHz radio system to address these problems. 6. Radio communications can easily be overloaded without strict radiodiscipline and an adequate number of channels. One of the major problems was the over usage of fire ground radio channels. Also, communications from the air operations and medical groups interfered with interior tactical communications. <hr></blockquote> Look at the photos and links at these sites and compare to the WTC fires which supposedly did the deed. from- http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/050488_InterstateFire.htm<blockquote>Quote:<hr> During the late evening of May 4, 1988, and the early morning of May 5, 1988, members of the Los Angeles City Fire Department successfully battled what has proven to be the worst, most devastating high-rise fire in the history of Los Angeles. Extinguishing this blaze at the 62-story First Interstate Bank Building, 707 West Wilshire Boulevard, required the combined efforts of 64 fire companies, 10 City rescue ambulances, 17 private ambulances, 4 helicopters, 53 Command Officers and support personnel, a complement of 383 Firefighters and Paramedics, and considerable assistance from other City departments. It is humbling and terrifying to realize how close we came to losing control of this fire! Had it not been for the extraordinary commitment to duty, staunch determination to extinguish the fire at all costs, and unabated heroism and courage of our brave Firefighters, I am convinced that the fire would not have been contained as it was in 3-1/2 hours. <hr></blockquote> <img src="http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/050488_interstate_fire_lg.gif" style="border:0;"/> <img src="http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/1stInterstate_NYBoardofUnderwriters.jpg" style="border:0;"/> <img src="http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/DamiensSkyscraperPage.gif" style="border:0;"/> More info at this pages links reading thusly- <blockquote>Quote:<hr>EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FIRST INTERSTATE BANK BUILDING FIRE LAFD REPORT United States Fire Administration Technical Report AIR OPERATIONS at the WORST HIGH-RISE FIRE IN LOS ANGELES HISTORY By Michael Roy, Pilot III LAFD Air Operations THE FIREMEN'S GRAPEVINE, JULY, 1988 Towering Inferno II -- Still No Movie Version By John J. Fitzgerald Box 4 Fire Buff Club, Dallas, Texas THE FIREMEN'S GRAPEVINE, JULY, 1988<hr></blockquote> Another web page on this 1988 fire- http://www.drj.com/drworld/content/w1_119.htm <img src="http://www.drj.com/drworld/content/Images/world1/wo1_119.gif" style="border:0;"/> <img src="http://www.drj.com/drworld/content/Images/world1/wo1_119a.gif" style="border:0;"/> This event wasn't an unforeseen problem and had been prepared for- <blockquote>Quote:<hr>The damage to the building by the time the fire was suppressed at 2:20 a.m. May 5 was extensive: * First Interstate’s 12th floor securities-trading room, which normally handles $3-$5 billion per day in transactions, was totally destroyed. * Temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit destroyed mini computers and compatible microcomputers in the bond trading division. * The 11th floor, housing the bank’s securities vault, was completely destroyed by severe water damage. * Some 2,000 First Interstate employees were displaced from their offices. * The main downtown Los Angeles branch, located on the ground floor, was severely damaged by water. The Plan First Interstate had a carefully developed and well rehearsed business resumption/crisis plan with a dedicated business resumption team already in place. The Bank began to develop its intricate plan some two years before the May 1988 fire. The bank allocated millions of dollars to this project and senior management assigned a very high priority to the development of the business resumption plan.<hr></blockquote> Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=hughmanateewins>Hugh Manatee Wins</A> at: 8/27/06 8:43 pm

by **FourthBase** » Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:51 pm

Interesting thread, Hugh, as long as it concentrates on this specific building and doesn't turn into yet another CD thread. I would focus on why this building didn't collapse despite the heat and duration of the fire, and the location on the lower floors (leading to more weight bearing down). If WTC would have stood without the fire, then just a fire like this should have collapsed this LA building. Why do the "experts" say it didn't collapse?

by **stoneonstone** » Mon Aug 28, 2006 4:53 pm

You're ferreting out very interesting stuff Hugh. Does anyone know the fate of this office tower? Was it restored and still used?

1988 LA skyscraper fire. Arson? It didn't collapse. Photos.

1988 LA skyscraper fire. Arson? It didn't collapse. Photos.

Re: 1988 LA skyscraper fire. Arson? It didn't collapse. Phot

fate of LA building now?

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