With highly flammable heavy timber and plastics, close quarters, constant construction and use of open flames and pyrotechnics, movie studios have long been considered especially vulnerable for the types of fires that swept across the Universal Studios lot.
Back in 1952, when an eight-acre chunk of the Warner Bros. back lot erupted in flames, Burt Lancaster, Ray Bolger and other actors were pressed into service to help firefighters battle the blaze.
Fire protection has come a long way since then, but fire officials said movie studios and production facilities remained a major concern.
Sunday's Universal Studios Hollywood fire is already prompting a new review of safety measures across the film industry.
"I can assure you that every single major studio is taking a look at their facilities right now," said Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell, whose department handles the Warner Bros. and Walt Disney Co. lots, among others.
Bell, a veteran of studio fires, said the Universal blaze was the biggest he'd seen over a 32-year career. "This is an eye-opener."
Los Angeles County officials said they were planning to produce a report that will look at the Universal blaze as well as lessons that can be applied by other studios and production facilities in the area. They also plan to examine whether building code rules need to be strengthened to better prevent studio fires.
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said that a big concern was a lack of water pressure encountered when firefighters initially responded to the Universal fire and he wanted to make sure other studios don't face the same problem. But other fire safety issues at all area production facilities, including storage of combustible materials, also merited a closer look, he said.
At Universal, storage of contents in a video vault on the back lot created an added danger for firefighters and might have played a role in keeping the fire burning long after it had been put out in other areas, Yaroslavsky said.
"Videos were packed like sardines," he said. The vault "was so densely packed that it made it impossible for the firefighters to fight."
Universal has seen half a dozen major fires in its history, two of which -- including Sunday's blaze -- burned New York City set backdrops.
Los Angeles Fire Inspector William Parker said he had seen marked improvement in fire prevention systems in the 13 years that he has been working with the studios, but the risks remain high.
