Universal Studios Chairman Ron Meyer has taken issue with news reports claiming that the studio's water system was inadequate to battle the fire that, among other things, destroyed a vault containing tapes of thousands of the company's television shows and hundreds of classic film prints. In a message to company employees that Nikki Finke posted on her Dateline Hollywood Today website, Meyer said that it was "not the case" that the water system was inadequate. "In fact, at a recent press conference organized by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Chief Michael Freeman stated unequivocally that Universal had sufficient water capacity to handle the fire." However, news reports of Freeman's assessment noted that the fire chief had added that despite the sufficient water capacity, the studio's own system of water lines running through the movie-set rafters decreased water pressure and resulted in additional water loss when some of the lines snapped when the rafters collapsed during the fire.
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