Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9307220133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ATLANTA LENGTH: Medium
The fire department and Braves management debated the adequacy of firefighting equipment, evacuation procedures and responsibility for prompt reporting of the blaze, which broke out 90 minutes before Tuesday night's game between the Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.
A preliminary report indicated the fire was started by an unattended can of Sterno used to heat food in a hospitality suite rented by WGST, the team's flagship radio station.
The fire burned through the WGST booth and four others, including the broadcast booth and one belonging to Braves executives, said Reggie Williams, director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority.
Flaming debris fell into the lower deck seats between home plate and third base as the few spectators in the stadium were hustled out. Stadium personnel tried using fire extinguishers to put out the fire, but it was burning out of control.
Atlanta fire chief David Chamberlin said a loud explosion several minutes after the fire began was beams bursting above the box, the primary structural damage caused by the blaze.
The start of the game was delayed almost two hours. No one was injured.
Ten thousand seats were closed off for Tuesday's game. Officials said most would be reopened for Wednesday night's Braves-Cardinals game, but 1,700 seats in four sections above a steel beam warped by the heat will stay closed until the next home game Aug. 3.
Atlanta Fire Department spokesman Tim Syzmanski said the first call on the fire came from a firefighter who saw a report on television - before any stadium official had reported the blaze.
"A lot of people over there were negligent at the stadium for not picking up the telephone and calling the fire department," Syzmanski said.
Williams and Braves president Stan Kasten said several officials and the stadium switchboard operator did report the fire, although they did not have exact times. Investigators reviewed tapes of 911 calls Wednesday and confirmed the firefighter called before stadium officials.
Williams said it took at least 30 minutes for firefighters to hook up hoses and begin dousing the fire once they were called.
"The fact is that there were not fire hydrants all the way around the stadium," Williams said.
Syzmanski said the fire department was notified at 5:56 p.m., trucks arrived at 6:02 and the first water was put on the blaze 15 minutes later.
Williams was asked about the feasibility of installing sprinklers or standpipes throughout the 27-year-old stadium, which will be torn down after the 1996 Olympic Games.
"Even if the stadium was being torn down tomorrow, and you got people occupying the stadium tonight, you want to do everything we can to ensure their safety," he said.
No decision will be made until reports are received from fire marshals and insurance companies, he said.
Syzmanski said sprinklers would have played a major role in fighting Tuesday's fire.
A 1979 Georgia law requires sprinklers in every building at least three stories tall, but buildings erected before then are exempt. Williams said sprinklers were not included in a 1985 stadium renovation because that was not the purpose of the remodeling.
Some spectators expressed concern about what would have happened if the fire erupted hours later, when the stadium was jammed with 49,000 people.
Kasten said it wouldn't have been as serious because the booth where it started wouldn't have been empty and the fire wouldn't have gone undetected.
"If this had happened two hours later, it would have been a non-event because we would have just put the fire out," he said.
Kasten said the Braves security department has a stadium evacuation plan approved by major-league officials.
If the fire had erupted during a sellout game, he said, "I think we could have evacuated 49,000 people as best as you can do it," although he called that "a nightmare in any circumstances."
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB