This Time It's For Real

King Kong no longer roars. And Marty McFly won't be able to find 1.21 jigawatts to go back in time to fix it since Marty's Hill Valley doesn't exist any more. This happened as a result of a fire Sunday on the back lot at Universal Studios in Los Angeles in which a noted set used for "Back to the Future" and dozens of other films and television productions was destroyed, as was the King Kong exhibit on the famous studio tour.

The early Sunday morning blaze raged for hours as it burned across the equivalent of two city blocks, but what made the fire so difficult to put out was the lack of pressure to fire hoses and an overloaded sprinkler system. The sprinkler system for these sets had been installed as a result of a fire in 1990. Yet, they did not do the job when the time came.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and county Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman have ordered an inquiry into whether the lack of water pressure in Universal's fire protection system allowed the blaze to get out of control at the studio and theme park. Universal did not offer comment on the system's operation, or lack thereof.

Freeman told the Times: "It appears the fire this morning overwhelmed fire-protection features. We're going to readily and quickly reevaluate that and see if that had any impact on the water pressure."

This type of incident should give facility managers a push forward into looking at their fire management programs and fire suppression systems. Despite all the new technology involving detection, alarms, and sprinklers, the equipment must function when needed. Making sure all is in working order, testing the system regularly, and consistently evaluating what works best is a solid way to make sure that your facility doesn't end up like the king of the beasts.

Photo by Mike Meadows, Associated Press.