April 5, 2017 - East Bay Times
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/04/05/editorial-too-many-fire-deaths-its-about-time-mayor-schaaf-got-mad/
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says she “went through the roof” when she heard last week about emails showing the fire department knew for at least 2 1/2 months about safety problems at the site of last week’s fire that killed four.
Well, it’s about time she got angry. Ever since the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship inferno that claimed 36 lives, the mayor has sent mixed messages about priorities and about holding public employees accountable.
She and her administration have been reactive to a steady drip of public records disclosures rather than aggressively proactive to ensure timely release of documents.
It’s time for full disclosure. It’s time for placing building safety above competing concerns. It’s time to insist every city employee does his or her part to protect residents. It’s time for a crackdown on unsafe buildings.
For four months now, we’ve watched the Schaaf administration try — unsuccessfully — to manage the message. The reality is that the city’s fire safety inspection system is dysfunctional and requires a top-to-bottom overhaul.
To be sure, Schaaf inherited a fire chief who was in over her head, who had received multiple warnings, including from the Alameda County civil grand jury, of a broken system in dire need of repair.
Yet, Chief Teresa Deloach Reed did nothing and then lashed out at her critics. Fortunately, she eventually got the message that she wasn’t cutting it, went on leave and announced her retirement in May.
But even with a new strong chief, the situation won’t change without clear direction that safety is the top priority. As long as the mayor insists on equally weighting keeping people housed with keeping them safe, inspectors will be reluctant to shut down buildings that should be closed.
We understand that no one wants to eliminate housing in a community that already has a shortage. But safety must come first. Forty people have died in four months in fires that were preventable. It’s time to unequivocally put safety first.
That message must be loud and clear. That means hiring adequate numbers of inspectors and then backing them up when they make the tough calls.
And that means holding accountable those workers — police, firefighters, building inspectors or any other city workers — who fail to report dangerous living conditions or fail to follow through.
Soon after the Ghost Ship fire, Schaaf declared, “We will not scapegoat city employees in the wake of this disaster.” She’s right. No one should be unfairly blamed.
But everyone should be held accountable, starting with the mayor. We’re glad to see she’s angry. So are we. And so should every Oakland resident. Too many people have lost their lives.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/04/05/editorial-too-many-fire-deaths-its-about-time-mayor-schaaf-got-mad/
