Getty Fire: Getty Center was designed to be fire resistant, expert says

Monday, October 28, 2019
The Getty Center is packed with priceless art, but the top risk concern for the facility is not theft - it's fire.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The Getty Center is packed with priceless art, but the top risk concern for the facility is not theft - it's fire.

"Logically you'd think it'd be something like Danny Ocean stealing art or something like that, but what it turned out to be was fire," security and risk management expert Hal Kempfer told ABC7 after the Getty Center fire erupted Monday. "Wildland fire and brush fire was their biggest risk, and the entire center was designed with that in mind."
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MORE: Getty Fire Map -- Road, school closures continue as mandatory evacuations ordered near museum

Kempfer said the Getty Center was designed to be fire resistant. The anti-fire elements include the materials used to construct the museum, the way the eaves were built and how the landscaping was designed, he said.

"It's a rather interesting, structural anomaly in Southern California, that it was designed with fire in mind," Kempfer said.

Kempfer added that the Getty Center's first security master was a senior fire official.

"He was very up front and he said fire is our biggest risk," he said, adding that the biggest fear was that a fire would get into the center and the art work would be destroyed in the flames.



The Getty Fire ignited along the Sepulveda Pass Monday. The wind-driven blaze spread quickly and destroyed multiple homes. However, its flames did not reach the Getty Center. Click here for the latest on the Getty Fire.
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PHOTOS: Getty Fire burns in West Los Angeles
A firefighter works to clear a house destroyed by a wildfire called the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.none
A helicopter prepares to drop water onto a burning ridge top as a wildfire called the Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A wildfire called the Getty Fire burns a ridge top as a water-dropping helicopter flies by on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A helicopter drops water over fire crews as a wildfire called the Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A plane drops retardant as the Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Fire smolders in an outbuilding at Fieldstone Farm in Santa Rosa, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019.AP
Smoke from a wildfire called the Kincade Fire hangs over Healdsburg, Calif., as farm animals graze in a pasture on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019.AP
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti visits homes as they burn in the Getty fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
A California Street cable car operator and passenger wear breathing masks to protect against smoke from wildfires Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in San Francisco.AP
A firefighter from San Matteo helps fight the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road from the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road from the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road from the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road from the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
A man walks past a burning home during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
A firefighter tries to catch his breath after fighting flames of the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
Firefighters try to save a home on Tigertail Road as power lines fall and spark behind them during the Getty Fire, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles, Calif.AP
A firefighters gets in position to hose down flames as a home burns in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Road, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A firefighter gets in position to hose down flames as a home burns in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Road Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A firefighters tries to hose down flames as a home burns in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters hose down flames as a home burns in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti walks along Tigertail Rd. as the Getty fire burns homes nearby Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters battle the Getty Fire as it burns down a home along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters try to hose down flames as homes burn in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, second from left, walks along Tigertail Road as the Getty fire burns homes nearby Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters combine efforts as the Getty fire burns down homes along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A firefighter tries to hose down flames as multiple homes burn in the Getty fire area along Tigertail Road, Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
A helicopter drops water as the Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters are illuminated by engines as they battle the Getty fire as it burns homes along Tigertail Rd. Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
The Getty fire burns on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP
Firefighters walk on top of a burned down canyon caused by the Getty fire on Mandeville Canyon Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Los Angeles.AP

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