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LA City Hall To Review Sprinkler Laws After High-Rise Fire; Class Action Suit Announced
Damage from a fire at the Barrington Plaza apartments is seen on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020. (David Wagner/LAist)
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The day after a dramatic fire forced residents of a Sawtelle high-rise to evacuate, L.A. City Council members say they will consider mandating sprinkler systems in high-rises currently exempted from the safety measure.
Yesterday's fire was the second in seven years at the 25-story high-rise on West Wilshire Boulevard. The Barrington Plaza complex doesn't have sprinklers, and it isn't required to because it was built between 1943 and 1974.
Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents the area, says that gap in L.A.'s sprinkler regulations is unacceptable. He told us:
"It's about protecting the lives of the people who live in these buildings, and it's about protecting the lives of our firefighters who are risking their lives to save or rescue people who are in those buildings."
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Bonin says there are 55 high-rise buildings in Los Angeles -- many along the Wilshire Corridor where Wednesday’s fire broke out -- that don't have sprinklers.
Word that building owners may face stiffer sprinkler requirements came as attorneys for the building residents said they had filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Barrington Plaza residents.
We just filed a massive CLASS ACTION against Barrington Plaza and it’s parent company Douglas Emmett arising out of the preventable, foreseeable, and destructive fire on 1/29/20 that critically injured some and traumatized all tenants. Justice is coming. @markgeragos pic.twitter.com/mqlpIK6ISC
— Ben Meiselas (@meiselasb) January 30, 2020
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