High-rise escape plans leave fire officials anxious.

Despite ongoing concerns about terrorist attacks, emergency evacuation plans in L.A.-area buildings remain spotty, according to Fire Department records and interviews with safety officials and building workers.

The problems, which range from boxes blocking exit paths to language barriers that could sow confusion at crucial moments, aren't evidence of wholesale flouting of L.A.'s stringent building safety requirements.

But the shortcomings could mean the difference between life and death for hundreds in a fire, earthquake or intentional attack such as a bomb or airplane aimed at a building.

Thinly stretched safety inspectors are having a hard time keeping the violations in check.

"It's wishful thinking to believe I could do a high-rise inspection and not find a violation," said Joe Paneno, the only one of six Santa Monica fire inspectors assigned to the city's 68 high-rise buildings.

The Business Journal reviewed safety inspection records for three local buildings: the 62-story Aon Center in downtown L.A., where a 1988 fire prompted increased fire sprinkler deployment citywide; Los Angeles City Hall, one of the city's most recognizable buildings; and the 22-story building at 100 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica, home to high-profile tenants in entertainment and financial services.

In a March 4 inspection at Aon Center, the Los Angeles Fire Department discovered 29 violations, including boxes stacked in hallways leading to exits, boxes stacked too close to sprinklers, fire extinguishers that needed to be recharged and burned-out bulbs in exit signs.

City Hall was found to have 25 similar violations during a Jan. 13 inspection.

In an inspection by Santa Monica fire officials on June 16, 2002, the 100 Wilshire building was cited for 15 violations.

"You're dealing with tens of thousands of square feet and thousands of people within that area, modifying and adjusting things to their liking' said Paneno. "It generally compromises the safety in the building."

Drills, violations

To be sure, building managers have taken steps to thwart potential problems in their buildings. Downtown, metal detectors and a stepped up security presence have been the norm for the past year and a half.

Even before these measures, fire drills have been conducted at least once a year at every area high-rise, providing building tenants with at least a blueprint for escape in an emergency.

Peter Anastassiou, a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle and general manager of the Aon Center, said, "What we find is minimal and nothing that would be considered a major hazardous violation. If we find anything remotely dangerous, we would immediately deal with it. We don't mess around with people's safety."

Douglas Emmett, the management company for 100 Wilshire, refused comment.

At City Hall, officials said employees have paid closer attention not to let safety violations linger since Sept. 11, 2001.

"Seeing as how we are in a building that could be perceived as a (terrorist) target, everyone is cooperative in terms of safety and evacuation procedures," said Mike LoGrand, a city planner and floor warden on the building's seventh floor.

Nevertheless, fire officials remain concerned about a host of vulnerabilities at office buildings -- from heavy turnover among tenants (many of whom don't know when they are breaking code violations) to a general laxity about participating in annual evacuation drills, despite fines that could reach $2,750 per tenant.

"Some absolutely refuse because they think the fax coming in is more important than the fire drill," said Victor Lozano, a fire safety specialist with the L.A. Fire Department. "In a real emergency, some of these people would get hurt or cause other people to get hurt,"

Many workers ignore safety measures, such as memorizing fire escape routes and adhering to safety codes -- even at the Aon Center (formerly known as the First Interstate building), where a 1988 fire spread rapidly from the 12th to the 16th floors, killing one, injuring 40 and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. After the blaze, fire officials determined that its spread was aided by a shortage of sprinklers.

The City Council soon passed an ordinance mandating that all high-rises constructed before July 1, 1974 install sprinklers every 15 feet. (The state already had a law in place mandating the systems for buildings constructed after July 1, 1974.)

Even so, L.A. officials say they have not made changes to existing evacuation procedures to adjust for the increased threat of terrorism in the nation's second largest city.

As it stands, Los Angeles has 800 office and residential high-rise buildings, with 10 city fire inspectors assigned to them. Santa Monica has 68 high-rises at least 55 feet (six or seven stories) high.

State and city fire codes mandate that all high-rise operations have a building emergency plan and conduct evacuation drills at least once per year. The drills are often staged by building management staff and consultants certified by the LAFD.

Additionally, every floor of each building is required to have at least one floor warden and several monitors working under them to steer workers to a safe exit during an evacuation and notify first responders of any injured personnel inside. (These volunteers are given additional annual drills.)

Some high-rise tenants wonder whether the evacuation drills they routinely run -- and for which they receive ample warning -- will be helpful in a real emergency.

"My biggest concern is making sure it's a calm evacuation and that nobody tramples each other going down the stairs," said Shelley Wise, a customer service representative for a security firm located on the 14th floor of Aon Center. "I'm sure some people would panic. We're pretty high up there."

Evacuations of high-rises are staged several floors at a time from the bottom up, meaning workers on the higher floors would have to wait during an emergency until it was their turn to exit.

"If you train people properly, panic is not going to be happening," said Anastassiou, the Aon Center's manager.

There's also a potential language barrier. The city fire code only requires safety manuals be issued to tenants in English and the most common foreign language spoken among occupants of each building (to be determined by the building owner or management company). But in L.A., that could be any one of several languages.

"We try to put the burden on the tenant space lessor so that they are ultimately responsible for their employees," said Patrick Killian, an LAFD fire inspector. "But (tenants) better understand English."

Terror fears

The specter of terrorist attacks places a huge wild card into the mix. Emergency rescue crews would not even arrive at the scene until the nature of the emergency is known.

"At the very beginning, there is nobody there to help you but you," said Lozano, the fire safety specialist with the LAFD. "The problem with these attacks is you really don't know what's happening until you have felt the effects of it. What's to say what's outside is safer than what's inside?"

Detonation of a bomb or a collision by a hijacked plane could knock out the intercom systems and severely hurt the building staff hired to guide tenants to safety.

"It's as uncertain as the terrorists themselves," said Bob Janovici, chief zoning administrator for the L.A. Planning Department, which is on the seventh floor of the 28-story City Hall. "We have members of the public in there as well. They wouldn't have any training. It's about whether we can get the people out in a timely fashion."

Some elected officials believe the current measures aren't sufficient, and want to add muscle to them. The L.A. City Council is expected to vote soon on a proposed ordinance drawn up by Councilman Jack Weiss and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

The measure would add wardens to each floor of a building and certify an occupant of each high-rise as fire safety director, who would be present any time at least 20 percent of a building's capacity is present. Many of these are already in place.

"People want to partner with government in the area of preparedness," said Weiss. "But the reality is, government has been lagging."

RELATED ARTICLE: Exit Strategy

EVERY big office building in the county has an emergency evacuation plan, designed to ease people out in of fire or earthquake. But the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks -- and the subsequent warnings of more such assaults -- have added a another level of anxiety over escape from buildings. Business Journal reporters asked office workers in Santa Monica and downtown L.A. if they felt preparations in their buildings met the heightened state of concern.

Linda Johnson 

Temp worker, Caruso Affiliated Holdings

100 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

They didn't give me any kind of information at all when I came in here. I'm lust temping, but I would like to know what to do if there was a fire. I guess there's a map on the wall showing where the exits are.

James Montgomery 

Chief Executive, Digital Coast Partners

100 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica

Things are handled pretty well here. We have evacuation drills at least once a year. The last drill, I believe, was in November. We have floor wardens on every floor who are supposed to help direct people to the exits if we evacuate. It's not something new. We've always had good security here. We always had guards at the door, signing people in. I don't really feel vulnerable.

Jeannie Kasahara

Supervisor of General Affairs

ANA Hallow Tours USA Inc.

707 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

We have fire drills about twice a year and the whole building participates. We have five to six safety wardens in our suite; we all have positions and know what to do. We were taught what to do by the building and have been given four exit staircases. I think we all feel prepared. They take care of the tenants.

Darlene Smith

Executive Assistant, Marshall & Stevens

707 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

It's pretty standard to have a drill one to two times a year, but I don't feel prepared (for an emergency). I've been talking with other people in my office about how to contact each other if something happens and no one has any plans. There's general unconcern, almost disbelief about it.

Paul C. Mullis Jr.

Planning Associate, Zoning Administration, City of Los Angeles 

City Hall, Los Angeles

I'm aware of the evacuation plan. There was a drill one to two weeks ago, but I didn't participate. We have people assigned to make sure everyone gets out I feel that we're prepared as we can be. I'm not concerned and I can't foretell the future.

Stephanie Martinez

Clerk, City of Los Angeles

City Hall, Los Angeles

I'm aware of the evacuation plan but I haven't gone over it in a couple months. There have been no special preparations made in my office. I don't feel prepared for an emergency. I feel safe security wise but they need to do something about evacuations.

Mark Davis

Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, City Hail East

City Hall, Los Angeles

It is a full time job ensuring that coordinators on all of the floors know their responsibilities and communicate those to the occupants. Before Sept. 11 there was good compliance with emergency plans but after a lot more people wanted to know what to do and be informed. The interest is holding steady due to changes in threat levels and new reports on terrorist activity. People aren't as keyed up as Sept 12 but more still more heightened than before Sept. 11.

Nicole Taylor, Matt Myerhoff