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A total of 270 firefighters from 55 different companies and 4 helicopters were all called in to fight the fire. One firefighter with the Los
Angeles Fire Department told reporters; "I was not sure we could hold it" due to the intensely hot blaze fueled by the synthetic fabrics and furnishings in the
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of lighting circuit currents. The fire was first alerted around 10:22pm on May 4, 1988 when a smoke detector on the 12th floor of the building activated. However, due to ongoing work on the sprinkler system being installed that evening, security personal immediately silenced the alarm, believing the
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A maintenance worker, Alexander Handy, took a service elevator to the 12th floor in order to investigate the smoke detectors, however he ultimately died when the elevator opened onto the burning 12th floor. Around 50 people were believed to be occupying the building at the time of the fire, with 37
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Repair work took four months. Because of the fire, Los
Angeles building codes were changed, requiring all high-rises to be equipped with fire sprinklers. This modified a 1974 ordinance that only required new buildings to contain fire sprinkler systems.
282:, which were not required for office towers at the time construction was completed in 1973. A sprinkler system was 90% installed at the time of the fire but was inoperative, awaiting the installation of water flow alarms.
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activation to be a false alarm. Within six minutes, almost every smoke detector from floors 12 through 30 activated. The fire was not reported to emergency services until people outside the building called 911.
270:. The fire destroyed five floors of the building, injured 40 people, and caused the death of a maintenance worker, when the elevator he was riding opened onto the burning 12th floor.
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on support members was a significant mitigating factor. The fireproofing used to protect the steel was
Monokote supplied by GCP Applied Technologies (formerly W. R. Grace).
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individuals injured including 3 firefighters. Five individuals were rescued from the rooftop via helicopter.
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577:"A $ 50 Million Lesson in Fire Containment; Passive fire compartmentation offers hope when all else fails"
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building. The fire, which resulted in $ 50 million in damages, was eventually contained at 2:19 AM.
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663:"Adding Film to the Fire : Re-Enacted for TV, First Interstate Blaze Is Relived by Survivors"
393:- a 38-story building destroyed by fire 3 years later while a sprinkler system was being installed
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437:- a 14 June 2017 destruction of a London 24-story high-rise which had no sprinkler system
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The fire's origin has been attributed to overloading of electrical wiring by reactive
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Los
Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive: First Interstate Bank Fire
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630:"Los Angeles High-Rise Fire Kills 1; Officials Cite Lack of Sprinklers"
49: in this article. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
711:"How L.A.'s worst high-rise fire spread. (First Interstate Tower)"
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The fire was so severe because the building was not equipped with
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that occurred on May 4, 1988, at the First
Interstate Tower (now
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Reinhold, Robert; Times, Special To the New York (1988-05-06).
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425:– a 2009 fire in a tower block in Camberwell, South London
409:- a 1974 fire which burned through a 25-story building in
399:- a 1972 fire which burned through a 32-story building in
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The First
Interstate Tower, with several floors burning.
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499:"Open Fire Door Blamed in First Interstate Death"
469:"Technical Report, Interstate Bank Building Fire"
552:"Interstate Bank Building Fire Los Angeles 1988"
816:Commercial building fires in the United States
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601:"First Interstate Bank Fire–25 Years Later"
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685:"Review: Fire! Trapped on the 37th Floor"
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
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429:2017 Plasco Building fire and collapse
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821:High-rise fires in the United States
811:May 1988 events in the United States
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331:The fire was dramatized in the 1991
47:adding citations to reliable sources
16:1988 fire in Los Angeles, California
715:Building Design & Construction
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473:United States Fire Administration
754:Stremfel, Michael (1990-10-29).
521:""Lifting" the Grounding Enigma"
519:Glasband, Eric (November 1994).
419:– destroyed a 28-story high-rise
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315:, unusually good application of
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806:1988 fires in the United States
734:Emerson, Cole H. (1989-06-01).
550:Thompson, Kristy (2011-06-08).
497:Becklund, Laurie (1988-08-27).
337:Fire: Trapped on the 37th Floor
34:needs additional citations for
709:Gregerson, John (1989-02-01).
661:Jones, Charisse (1990-10-25).
523:. MIX Magazine. Archived from
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58:"First Interstate Tower fire"
760:Los Angeles Business Journal
268:tallest building in the city
228:Overloaded electrical system
252:First Interstate Tower fire
122:First Interstate Tower fire
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683:Tucker, Ken (1991-02-15).
313:FEMA fire incident report
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199:34.049222°N 118.257139°W
264:Los Angeles, California
166:Los Angeles, California
687:. Entertainment Weekly
204:34.049222; -118.257139
157:First Interstate Tower
142:May 4, 1988
43:improve this article
801:1988 in Los Angeles
796:Fires in California
740:Security Management
435:Grenfell Tower fire
327:Cultural references
195: /
123:
634:The New York Times
581:Architect Magazine
423:Lakanal House fire
417:2010 Shanghai fire
391:One Meridian Plaza
383:Los Angeles portal
345:Lisa Hartman Black
241:Non-fatal injuries
605:FirefighterNation
445:Henderson, Nevada
431:– in Tehran, Iran
411:Sao Paulo, Brazil
401:Sao Paulo, Brazil
311:According to the
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763:. Retrieved
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743:. Retrieved
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723:. Retrieved
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477:the original
397:Andraus Fire
369:1980s portal
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317:fireproofing
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41:Please help
36:verification
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407:Joelma Fire
339:, starring
202: /
187:34°2′57.2″N
177:Coordinates
790:Categories
691:2017-10-19
669:2017-10-19
647:2021-09-08
611:2021-09-08
586:2021-09-08
561:2021-09-08
531:2012-12-13
505:2017-10-19
483:2009-11-21
452:References
341:Lee Majors
292:distortion
274:Background
260:Aon Center
146:1988-05-04
69:newspapers
642:0362-4331
307:Aftermath
99:July 2020
355:See also
333:telefilm
162:Location
765:13 July
745:13 July
725:13 July
144: (
83:scholar
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254:was a
233:Deaths
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262:) in
225:Cause
154:Venue
90:JSTOR
76:books
767:2010
747:2010
727:2010
638:ISSN
556:NIST
347:and
286:Fire
250:The
219:Fire
215:Type
139:Date
62:news
45:by
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