Central Library Fire in Los Angeles - Research Paper Example

Abstract The paper seeks to look into the Central Library fire which occurred in 1986 in Los Angeles and destroyed over 20 % of the contents of the library. As on of the most devastating fires ever realized in a library, this case was a great learning point on some of the most critical issues that confront society. The paper therefore looks into the cause of the fire, effects and the most important lessons that can be learned from this case. Like in most tragedies, these shortcomings should be used in order to prevent any such challenges in the future. Introduction The Central Library building was constructed in 1926 and is located in downtown Los Angeles. The library is actually the third largest in the United States in terms of its holding of books and periodicals. The architecture of the building was influenced by the ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean architecture. Architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue designed the building which was later to be designated as Los Angeles historic cultural monument. After its initial construction, the building was extensively renovated and expanded in order to increase its size and make it a true landmark in the city. The cause of the fire On 29th April 1986 a devastating fire raged down part of the building in which some 400, 000 volumes were lost. This made up 20 percent of the library’s total holding and was therefore considered one of the worst library fires ever realized in history. In addition, significant damage was done to other works courtesy of the smoke and water that was used by the firefighters in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the fire. To the Los Angeles fire department, controlling the fire was certainly a daunting task given the manner in which the building was constructed and its rather difficult location. Nevertheless, after a lot of support and assistance from other fire fighting companies in the city, the fire was successfully put off. This occurred after seven and half hours since the first fire detection siren sounded the alarm. In a way, the importance of learning all the information pertaining to this arson attack on the library lies in the several revelations that were made after the investigations were concluded. As an iconic building which was certainly one of the marvels in the city of Los Angeles, the Central Library building had very little provision for fire and its designers had failed to consider the fate of the building in the case of such an occurrence. In this regard, much of the damage realized was basically as a result of the lack of fire provisions. In the same way, the library had a lot of materials which provided the best environment for the fire to spread rapidly. As a learning point, the fire presented the fire department with an ideal opportunity to learn and thereby make their skills and resources to the scale of such disasters. It was determined that the fire had been caused by arsonists. The magnitude of the fire and the loss that was thereby realized is a confirmation of the very losses that can be realized out of such malicious motivations. All these factors presented a challenge to the relevant parties in order to avoid any other situation like that in the future. Fighting the fire On the day of the fire at 10.52AM the first smoke detector signaled the siren which began sounding. The Los Angeles Fire department (LAFD) received the signal and dispatched a unit to the site immediately. After five minutes of the unit’s departure, the first engine arrived at the scene and the Operations Control Dispatch OCD could not see the signs of any fire. In the meantime other units continued coming into the scene and after a few minutes, Engine 9 reported the sight of the first smoke from the northeast of the building. However, the walls of the building were very thick and there was little ventilation which made the fire to build up very rapidly inside the building. On the outside, there was very little indication that the fire was gaining speed rapidly. As the heat inside the building rose up and crept through the outside of the building, the fire fighting companies had to be withdrawn and replaced in quick succession in the management of the fire. When a hose line was opened inside the building to splash water in order to cool off the building, super-heated steam pushed away the fire attack people. In this case, reaching the building was becoming a challenge with each passing moment. It was now estimated that the temperatures inside the northeastern part of the building were as high as 2000 degrees F. By 12.30PM, the fire had spread considerably fast and the fire department was confronted with three major challenges: ventilation, salvage and the need to protect the artifacts and published works below the floor of the fire. In order to accomplish this, sledge hammers and axes were used. The department managed to breech the roof and bore holes on the sides of the building in order to enable some of the heat and smoke to gush out. By 3.00 PM the firefighters were beginning to manage the fire considering that over 50 companies were now at the scene. Their efforts were supplemented by the presence of salvage companies and seven rescue ambulances which hovered above the scene. A total of eighteen holes had now been opened into the walls of the building in order to reduce the temperatures inside. By 5.00 PM much of the fire had now been controlled and relief and salvage companies began arriving at the scene of the fire. Investigations After the fire had been successfully put off, six fire fighting companies and two Battalion Commanders remained on the scene in order to manage the operations and protect all the information for the arson investigators. After a series of intense investigations which were conducted by the Tobacco, Alcohol and Arms in addition to other units of the investigators, it was determined that the fire had been intentionally set by arsonists of the 5th tier of the northeast stack of the building from where it spread to the other parts of the building (Morris, 2004). Experts on library fires and the L.A City Fire Department predicted that in case of a fire of such magnitude in a library, the contents of the library would be completely lost. It was indeed established that the fire was intentionally set but the motive of the arsonists could not really be determined. After all the investigation had been concluded, several realizations were made in connection to the fire. Apart from the architectural design of the building several other challenges had contributed to the devastating effects that were subsequently realized. In total, 20 percent of the contents of the library had been destroyed in the fire. This included over 400,000 volumes of books and periodicals. In addition, some of the surviving works had also been significantly destroyed due to the effects of the heat and the smoke that filled the whole building in the course of the fire. Indeed, the swiftness and efficiency of the fire fighting and salvage companies prevented the loss of more materials to the fire during the incident. The northeast part of the building where the fire initially began was extensively damaged due to the intense heat that was realized in this area. Parts of the western part of the building ware also damaged. Nevertheless, the imposing architecture of the building was retained despite the magnitude of the fire. The magnitude of the fire presented the firefighters in the city with one of the greatest challenges ever realized. Despite their efforts which ensured that no major casualties were realized as a consequence of the accident, several mistakes had indeed been made in the process of fighting the fire and salvaging the material from the building. Initially one of the fire detection sirens did not function and therefore information could not reach the fire department on the progress of the fire. The fire department did not really have much information on the design of the building and how they could therefore manage the fire. As a result, the temperatures inside the building soared rapidly before the firefighters realized the need to bore holes through the building in order to control the fire. Had the department had sufficient information on the structure and arrangement of the building, it would have been in a better position to control the fire. The arrangement of the library provided the ideal environment for the spread of the fire. Books and other materials had been stacked to the roof of the building which easily fueled the fire. It was also realized that the presence of too many fire companies at the scene made the whole process of coordinating activities much difficult. Much valuable time was wasted in the process of consultations while the fire actually gained speed inside the building. The Central Library fire provided a perfect example to the fire department on the needs to completely transform some of the codes that were in place prior to the fire. Presently as a measure against library fires, the local fire department is required to have all the relevant information on the libraries including the arrangement and number of volumes. In the same way, all buildings are now required to have sufficient provision and ventilation in order to avoid what was witnessed in the central library fire where such provision s lacked (Deedy, 2002). All libraries are now regulated in tiers of the number of volumes they can keep in a single building and on the arrangement of the library in order to limit the spread of fires in case they happen. More importantly, the case of the Central Library fire presented the fire department with vital lessons and important information on how to manage future cases. In the same way, the management of the library and other people leaned very critical lessons as a result of the fire. References 2nd fire hits Los Angeles central library, is doused. (1986, September 4). Chicago Sun-Times, p. 45. ANGELENOS PONDER EFFECTS OF FIRE AT CENTRAL LIBRARY - NYTimes.com. (n.d.). The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Retrieved October 17, 2012, from http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/01/us/angelenos-ponder-effects-of-fire-at-central-library.html Deedy, C. A., & White, M. P. (2002). The library dragon. Atlanta: Peachtree. Morris, J. (2004). Managing the library fire risk (2d ed.). Berkeley: University of California. Read More