A Modified Bureau Strategy Meets the Demand
THE NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE
The LAFD Bureau of Fire Prevention and Public Safety consists of 250 personnel, 78 of whom hold the rank of Inspector I, involved in the traditional role of code enforcement inspection activities. Each of those inspectors is assigned his or her own district, with 350 to 550 occupancies to inspect on an annual basis. Eighteen of the inspectors are assigned to the various districts that comprise the San Fernando Valley.
The Northridge Earthquake gave the Bureau and its inspectors a challenge of significant proportions. Of major concern were hospitals, schools, high-rise and other multiple-family residential buildings, shopping malls, and major commercial and industrial complexes throughout the San Fernando Valley.
The day after the earthquake, all of the Bureau’s 135 inspectors were involved in postemergency damage assessment, working in cooperation w’ith the Department of Building and Safety. In the days immediately following the quake, individual inspectors and their supervisors contacted their major occupancies and responded to calls for service from others. Many inspectors worked closely with building owners and managers inspecting fire and life safety systems to determine what would be needed to get the occupancies back into business and/or open to the public.
Postearthquake activities definitely were not “business as usual.” To strictly enforce the letter of the law on certain specific operating characteristics of fire and life safety systems would have held up the reopening of many commercial occupancies. That not only would have exacerbated the economic impact of the earthquake on the city’s financial base but would have extended the inconvenience being experienced by those residents who lived in the areas so heavily affected.
If an occupancy could not be made safe through efforts of mitigation-such as alternate means of water supply, safety watch during hours of operation, or other inventive and/or mechanical solutions-it would have to remain closed to the public. But with an attitude of cooperation and trust, problems that initially seemed to be insurmountable were resolved in a manner that provided a reasonable level of code compliance. For example, “service reports” were accepted from fire alarm testing companies in lieu of complete testing of fire alarm systems under the supervision of a fire inspector. Diminished capacity (up to 40 percent) of emergency lighting systems was allowed to exist until such time as they could be repaired.
All field inspectors set aside their normal work schedules to accommodate earthquake-related requests for service. On their own initiative, inspectors reported for work early, left late, and often took no lunch break. They often remained on site as repairs to life safety systems were completed to speed up the inspection/approval process. In many cases, inspection fees were waived.
Creativity, cooperation, and hard work were in full force as the city’s fire and life safety systems were restored.
