Texas Fire Prompts Closer Look at Building Codes

City officials Friday began calling for stricter building codes and enforcement after 130 years of El Paso history burned to the ground Thursday night.

City Rep. Steve Ortega and City Manager Joyce Wilson said the lax building codes, among other things, might have led to the fire that burned the building at 100 E. San Antonio.

"This is an indication that some of our (building) standards are not high enough," Wilson said.

Built in 1882, the building was the First National Bank and the second floor once housed the law offices of gunslinger John Wesley Hardin.

On Friday, Wilson and Ortega were at the scene of the fire, along with fire officials, to discuss how future fires could be prevented and to look at neighboring buildings.

In one vacant Downtown building, the group found hundreds of cardboard boxes stacked in a small area under exposed wiring, Ortega said. However, the fire marshal informed them that it met city standards.

"There are boxes and combustible elements everywhere with faulty wiring, and this is under compliance?" Ortega asked. "In my opinion, it is still unacceptable. And it's this way all over town."

Ortega will meet with the city manager's office and business leaders on Monday "to come up with an immediate plan of action," he said.

Wilson has also began looking at options.

"I've asked my staff to give me recommendations and ideas to preserve and protect our city's treasures," Wilson said. "Basically, we need a stronger stick with stronger

standards that everyone needs to comply with."

One action may be proposing an Adaptive Re-use Standard, which would allow building owners to bring their properties up to standard in stages, Wilson said.

"That should be strong enough to allow them to upgrade their buildings easier," she said. "You can do things in increments."

On March 1, 2011, a city ordinance requiring business owners to register buildings, secure them and install alarms went into effect. Ortega said that is one example of how the city has tried to keep older buildings standing.

In the past, Ortega said, any movement to make the building code stricter was met with opposition from owners calling it "anti-business."

The El Paso Economic Development Department estimates that 65 percent of Downtown buildings are blighted, according to an article in the Times from June.

Ortega said Gerald "Jerry" Rubin, the owner of several Downtown buildings, including the one that burned Thursday, contacted him on Friday.

"The property owner has indicated that he wants to work with the city," Ortega said. "I take that as a good-faith offer to move forward and do our Downtown treasures justice."

Rubin was at the fire on Thursday but walked away from news media workers. He could not be reached for comment on Friday.

Employees at Rubin's company River Oaks Properties referred the Times to the company's lawyer Yolanda Giner at Gordon Davis Johnson and Shane Law Offices. Giner did not return messages left by the Times.

Billy Abraham, who also owns several Downtown buildings, many of them considered historic, was also at the scene of the ruins on Friday.

"I just want to say I'm devastated by this unfortunate occurrence," Abraham said. "It was a building that exuded the very essence of El Paso."

As a building owner, Abraham said, the only way to prevent similar fires is to follow building codes.

City officials have been critical of Abraham in the past by saying he just sits by while his buildings fall apart. But in an interview with the Times in June, he said the market is just right for him to start revitalizing several blocks of Downtown.

Abraham did not have a conversation with Ortega, but he said he, too, wants to be a part of the solution.

"I admire Steve Ortega and his efforts to revamp Downtown," Abraham said. "With the help of a cohesive effort, we will have a product that many El Pasoans can be proud of."

Fire investigators have not determined the cause of the fire. They are asking the public for help.

The El Paso Fire Department asks anyone with information on the fire to call 832-4439.

Demolition crews began tearing down what remained of the building on Friday.

Tom Maguire, chief building inspector for the city, said officials hope to have the debris cleared in a couple of days.

"We are bringing in dump trucks, and we will have a fire crew on standby in case there are any hot spots," Maguire said. "It's pitiful that we lost such a building. It was really well built, considering it was built in the 1880s and there were no power tools. It was really solid and hard to bring down."

The 100 block of San Antonio Avenue will be blocked off while workers clear the rubble.

"It's a tragic loss for the entire community," Wilson said. "The history and architecture is gone forever, and we are quite lucky we didn't have the entire block catch on fire."

Ortega said that he was saddened to see a historic building left in a rubble, but that it may serve as a wake-up call to the community.

"We can use this event and turn it into a positive, elevating our efforts as it relates to our Downtown properties," Ortega said.

"I've talked to members of the business community and city officials, and we agree that our Downtown properties have to be valued."

Copyright 2012 - El Paso Times, Texas

McClatchy-Tribune News Service