History Aon Center (Los Angeles)
on may 4, 1988, fire began on 12th floor after 10:00 pm; burned 4 hours. fire destroyed 5 floors, injured 40 people, , left maintenance worker dead because elevator opened onto burning 12th floor. fire severe because building not equipped sprinkler system, not required office towers @ time of construction. sprinkler system 90 percent installed @ time of fire; however, system inoperative, awaiting installation of water flow alarms. fire contained @ 2:19 am, , caused $400 million in damage. repair work took 4 months. because of fire, building codes in los angeles modified, requiring high-rises equipped fire sprinklers. modified 1974 ordinance required new buildings contain fire sprinkler systems, grandfathering older buildings. existing all-concrete construction high-rises still exempt ordinance.
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