I have done much research into the real fire portrayed in this made-for-television screenplay.
While names have been changed, and some dramatic license has been taken to enhance the movie, I can tell you that much of this film is based on the real-life events of May 4-5, 1988.
Security personnel ignored several smoke alarm warnings, re-setting the alarms. This caused a 15 minute delay in reporting the fire to LAFD.
It was people on the street, seeing the fire leaping up from the windows, that called 9-1-1.
The first-arriving fire department unit was a battalion chief. Upon seeing fire burning on the outside of the windows, he immediately called for 20 more fire trucks (about 70 more firefighters) and five more battalion chiefs.
In reality, the sprinkler system contractors had installed about 90% of the system, up to about the 58th floor out of the 62 floors. The sprinkler system was already completed on the floors that burned (12 thru 16). However, the contractor had the water valves turned off, awaiting the complete installation of the system before turning on all the water flow valves.
Also, the fire pumps for the firefighter's water hose supply (standpipes) had been turned off earlier that night, unbeknownst to the fire department.
It wasn't until sometime later that the sprinkler contractor's foreman told the Incident Commander that the pumps were off.
Once the pumps were turned back on, water pressure in some of the hoses was so powerful, some of the hoses burst open, and others were too hard for the firemen to control.
In the end, it took nearly 400 fire department personnel three and a half hours before they were able to extinguish the fire.
At one point, the fire department was using 20 hoses from the four stairwells. In all, they used over half a million gallons of water.
An after incident investigation by the fire department, insurance investigators, and national engineering firms determined that "unusually good application of fire proofing material on the steel support columns helped prevent a possible collapse of the top 50 floors onto the street".
The logistical problems (carrying all of the hoses, air bottles, etc up 10 flights of stairs, and thousands of gallons of water a minute pouring down the stairwells, as well as poor radio communications made the firefighters jobs all the more difficult.
In spite of all the things that went wrong that night, the LAFD did an extraordinary job in putting out the fire and preventing further loss of life.
While names have been changed, and some dramatic license has been taken to enhance the movie, I can tell you that much of this film is based on the real-life events of May 4-5, 1988.
Security personnel ignored several smoke alarm warnings, re-setting the alarms. This caused a 15 minute delay in reporting the fire to LAFD.
It was people on the street, seeing the fire leaping up from the windows, that called 9-1-1.
The first-arriving fire department unit was a battalion chief. Upon seeing fire burning on the outside of the windows, he immediately called for 20 more fire trucks (about 70 more firefighters) and five more battalion chiefs.
In reality, the sprinkler system contractors had installed about 90% of the system, up to about the 58th floor out of the 62 floors. The sprinkler system was already completed on the floors that burned (12 thru 16). However, the contractor had the water valves turned off, awaiting the complete installation of the system before turning on all the water flow valves.
Also, the fire pumps for the firefighter's water hose supply (standpipes) had been turned off earlier that night, unbeknownst to the fire department.
It wasn't until sometime later that the sprinkler contractor's foreman told the Incident Commander that the pumps were off.
Once the pumps were turned back on, water pressure in some of the hoses was so powerful, some of the hoses burst open, and others were too hard for the firemen to control.
In the end, it took nearly 400 fire department personnel three and a half hours before they were able to extinguish the fire.
At one point, the fire department was using 20 hoses from the four stairwells. In all, they used over half a million gallons of water.
An after incident investigation by the fire department, insurance investigators, and national engineering firms determined that "unusually good application of fire proofing material on the steel support columns helped prevent a possible collapse of the top 50 floors onto the street".
The logistical problems (carrying all of the hoses, air bottles, etc up 10 flights of stairs, and thousands of gallons of water a minute pouring down the stairwells, as well as poor radio communications made the firefighters jobs all the more difficult.
In spite of all the things that went wrong that night, the LAFD did an extraordinary job in putting out the fire and preventing further loss of life.