Power has been restored to 12 downtown buildings,
hours after an underground electric generator exploded in another building,
rupturing pipes, causing some flooding and injuring a handful of people,
authorities said.
Two people were hospitalized and two others suffered minor injuries from
the explosion, which occurred at 811 Wilshire Blvd. at 10:17 p.m. Thursday,
said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The high-rise where the blast occurred remained without power, according
to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which reported that the
building had been red-tagged after the explosion. The red tag designation means
the building cannot be occupied.
A representative of Los Angeles-based Jamison Services, the commercial
office building’s landlord, said it is not believed that the building sustained
significant structural damage, but private contractors and engineers are
working with city building inspectors to make sure the 19-story structure can
be safely occupied.
The building houses a mix of large and small commercial tenants, Bruce
Beck of Jamison Services told City News Service.
Building inspectors red-tagged the structure because the explosion made
its electrical and fire-safety systems inoperable, Humphrey said, even though
“we are told the building is structurally sound.”
Joseph Ramallo of the DWP said 12 other buildings in the area, near the
intersection of Wilshire and Flower Avenue, also lost power. Electricity to
those buildings was restored Friday afternoon, Ramallo announced at about 4:30
p.m.
“The cause of the fire is under investigation,” Ramallo said.
Beck said reports the blast occurred in a basement generator that
provides power to the building were untrue, because the building’s power
generator is atop a parking structure across an alley from the building.
According to Ramallo, inspections “have indicated extensive damage to
LADWP’s on-site industrial power station.”
One of the affected buildings houses the Los Angeles Community College
District Office at 770 Wilshire Blvd., and that office was closed and its
website was down, said district Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez. However, the
nine colleges remained open, and their websites were operational, he said.
DWP staff were at the scene to assess the damage, which included the
pooling of a large volume of water on the building’s first sub-level as a
result of ruptured pipes, Humphrey said.
Firefighters helped evacuate some occupants from the building, but no
rescues were needed, Humphrey said.
