Plot

Susan and Paul are working late on the thirty-seventh floor of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Also in the building are the cleaning staff, security, and some engineers installing sprinklers. As the water pumps are switched off so that work on the sprinklers can continue, a fire starts on the twelfth floor.—Rob Hartill

Based on a true story that occurred in May1988, this takes place in the Los Angeles First Interstate Bank building which was the tallest one in the city at the time. Not long after the water pumps for the sprinklers are shut down for maintenance, a fire starts on the twelfth floor. Because of problems with the smoke alarms, security does not investigate until the fire has spread to the point when it is uncontrollable. When they discover the horrific extent of it, the Los Angeles City Fire Department is called in, with Deputy Chief Sterling commanding. Most of the people in the building such as security and cleaning staff are evacuated, but two office workers named Susan and Paul are trapped on the thirty-seventh floor, cut off by smoke in the stairwells, and unable to use the elevators. Over three hundred firefighters are deployed to fight the largest structure fire in Los Angeles history.—medic249a2

It is May 4, 1988. At 7:30 am, Los Angeles residents are starting morning commutes to work, and the firefighters of Los Angeles City Fire Department Ladder 3 and Engine 203 are returning to their hall after dealing with an auto accident on the southbound Harbor Freeway. As they return to Hall 3 on Fremont Street in downtown Los Angeles, they are greeted by the oncoming shift, including firefighters Baldwin, Perez and Anderson - a new recruit anticipating his first major fire. As they start to check Ladder 3's equipment, Baldwin assures young Anderson that today will be the day.

As the crews of fire hall 3 start checking their vehicles and equipment, employees of the First Interstate Bank in downtown Los Angeles are reporting to work. Among them are Susan Lowell, a finance advisor who is just turning 30 and is greeted by her friend Allison, who gives her an early 30th birthday gift. Also reporting to work is Paul Dewitt, who is working in another department close to Susan's on the 37th floor of the building, the tallest in downtown Los Angeles. Paul is annoyed at having to skip a party at a friend's boat in the Marina district, but puts it down to wanting 'a name instead of a number' on his assigned parking spot.

Most of the day is uneventful, and after the bank has closed for the day the cleaners and building engineers go to work. The lead housekeeper, Carlotta, assigns 2 people to the 32nd floor and follows Chief Building Engineer Joe Doyle and 2 other men to shut down the fire pumps so work on the sprinkler systems can start. Susan and Paul are the only office workers left in the building.

On the 12th floor of the building, in an area the cleaners have not yet passed through, a tiny wisp of smoke starts to rise from a fire burning at the base of a wall. The fire, believed to be electrical, slowly starts to spread across the walls and floor of the 12th floor. In the security HQ, a guard takes notice as the smoke alarms on that floor start sounding, but resets the alarm. As the fire spreads to the point it is uncontrollable, the smoke alarms start again. By now, several alarms have been tripped and this time the guard is unable to reset them. Even as this is going on, cleaners working above the 12th floor begin to notice smoke creeping into their work areas, and begin to panic. By now, the guard has alerted the security supervisor, Preston, who assigns a building engineer to go up to the 12th floor and check the alarming smoke detectors. The engineer heads up, using the service elevator. When the elevator door opens the engineer is met by a wall of blazing fire. He immediately screams for help, but knows it will not reach him in time as the garbage bags in the elevator next to him start to burn, too.

By now, Security has called 911 and alerted the Los Angeles City Fire Department that a fire is in progress on the bank's 12th floor. A full first alarm assignment is sent, including the crews from Hall 3. The firemen quickly suit up and take their positions on their trucks. Seconds later, Ladder 3, Engine 3 and Engine 203 are rolling towards the burning First Interstate Bank.

Inside the building, Security is trying to alert cleaning, security and maintenance workers to evacuate the building. The call reaches Susan and Paul, but they seem skeptical at first. One Spanish-speaking cleaner, on the 50th floor, hears the warning but goes back to work. Meanwhile, Carlotta, Chief Engineer Doyle, and 2 other men are forced to flee into a smoke filled stairwell and climb 4 floors to the roof. The man and woman on the 32nd floor are finally rescued by a guard who goes to the floor in an elevator. The man on the 50th floor subsequently discovers smoke filling the floor, and heads for a stairwell but discovers it is full of smoke! He slams the door and backs away, trying to figure out what to do next and not panic.

The first arriving Fire Department unit is the Battalion 1 Chief, James Lloyd. His adjutant stops the Crown Victoria just outside the building so the Chief can size it up. The Chief reports to OCD that the entire east side and 3/4 of the south side of the 12th floor of the building is fully involved with fire. He requests 5 additional task forces, 5 additional Engine companies, and 5 more Chief Officers (Battalion Chiefs or higher). Seconds behind him are Ladder 3, Engine 3 and Engine 203. The Captain of Ladder 3 approaches the Chief for instructions, and is told to put Engine 3 on fire attack and Ladder 3 and Engine 203 on lobby control. Chief Lloyd then goes to start assembling the command post on the other side of the street.

One of the Chief Officers called by OCD in response to Lloyd's call is Deputy Chief Don Sterling. When informed the building involved is the First Interstate Bank, he turns his vehicle around and begins heading toward the site.

Meanwhile back at the scene, the crews of Ladder 3 and Engine 203 start organizing lobby control and evacuate the cleaning and maintenance staff. Not long after, these crews are sent to the 10th floor to assess for a staging area and then proceed to.fire attack, as more companies arrive. They encounter problems such as mismarked keys which slow their progress.

By now, Carlotta, Chief Engineer Doyle and the 2 other men have reached the roof, and stumble out into the fresh air, coughing and hacking from.the smoke. Doyle points out that there is no water as the pumps have been shut down for maintenance. Paul and Susan also try to evacuate, but are cut off by smoke in the stairwells. They discover there is no way to go down or up to get out, and are forced to remain on floor 37.

Chief Sterling, enroute, is given a size up by the LAFD'S helicopter. It reports fire lapping the structure 50 feet up from the fire floor. They also report spotting Chief Engineer Doyle's party on the roof, and advise they are heading over.

By now the 10th floor has been cleared for staging and the crews of Ladder 3 and Engine 3 head to the 12th floor.