On Dec. 2, 2016, 36 people lost their life in a fire at a warehouse in Oakland, CA, that had come to be known as the Ghost Ship and was utilized as an artist collective and an illegal residence. Although many view this as just another fire tragedy, those of us who are in the fire service can’t allow ourselves to do that.
Today, fire starts, spreads and kills no differently than it did when the caveman first discovered it, only it’s doing so much faster and more deadlier. As Gordan Graham stated, “If it’s predictable, it’s preventable.” As members of a profession for which we are placed at extreme risk to battle this killer and that boasts “Everyone goes home,” we must look at these events differently.
No inspections
A particular tragedy concerning the Ghost Ship fire is that an Oakland Fire Department (OFD) firehouse was a block away. Yet, according to then-Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed, fire department records indicated that the warehouse was vacant. This was despite the frequent raves that routinely occurred at the location and the accompanying social media photos and ads that went along with them. Furthermore, the city received reports about conditions at the warehouse and possible illegal activity for at least 10 years. Oakland police responded to the warehouse numerous times over that period.
Because the OFD believed the warehouse to be vacant, the building wasn’t subject to annual fire inspections. Although a 2017 story from CBS San Francisco reported that an Oakland fire captain visited the warehouse after responding to an exterior couch fire—he liked “to see what’s in all the buildings in my district”—and shared his findings with the fire marshal’s office, there are no official records of firefighters ever responding to this location. However, with the OFD providing ALS services, and with reported stabbings and assaults among police responses to the warehouse, it’s fair to say that Oakland firefighters had, in fact, responded to the premises.
CRR could have made a difference
A solid community risk reduction (CRR) program brings stakeholders and community partners to the table to discuss data, statistics and community issues, to collaborate and address these matters from numerous disciplines. This creates a comprehensive—and more likely to be successful—program.
A CRR program that involved the Ghost Ship would have brought, at a minimum, city building inspectors and law enforcement to the table. The issues at the warehouse could have been brought to the attention of fire leadership and could have been addressed collaboratively from various angles. If members of the art community were invited to collaborate, a safer way for artists to express themselves possibly could have been discussed, and a more comprehensive program could have been developed and implemented.
Just as importantly—and a piece of low-hanging fruit for fire chiefs looking to incorporate CRR into more efficient service delivery—is the training and education of line personnel in fire prevention and inspections.
According to NBC Bay Area, at the time of the incident, the OFD had only eight inspectors for more than 26,000 properties, including those that required fire inspections per state law. At the same time, the department had some 500 line firefighters who responded to more than 60,000 emergency responses annually.
Some fire departments require inspector certifications for their line officers. That truly is the gold standard. Nevertheless, imagine 500 firefighters trained and educated enough on fire codes to notice when something isn’t right and to make the correction, educate the homeowner or business owner or, much like that Oakland fire captain, send a report to the fire marshal’s office. A crew that understands fire code is an invaluable resource that can be deployed as a daily service to reduce risks to citizens and firefighters alike, to truly ensure that all is being done to make sure that “Everyone goes home.” In the case of Oakland, that would have been approximately 500 firefighters who were trained in fire codes being deployed into their community more than 60,000 times per year, into the homes and buildings where they one day might have to fight fire, and providing intelligence to the eight fire inspectors regarding where their biggest hazards are.
Map of community hazards
Depending on state laws and community ordinances, line firefighters may or may not be able to enforce fire codes. We encourage enforcement be left to those who have the career education, training and certifications to do so. However, in most departments, as it was in Oakland, the number of inspectors is grossly inadequate in relation to the number of buildings that require inspection. Having line firefighters who are educated on fire codes in the community noting hazards and violations and communicating that information back to those who have the authority to enforce codes helps those few inspectors focus on buildings where enforcement is most needed and to do the greatest good in reducing risks to the public and firefighters.
This approach is a highly efficient use of resources. Line firefighters often know more about fire prevention than those who are in the inspection field who lack a firefighting background. A firefighter who crawled into a building understands how a fire will grow and spread based on the structure and nature of the fire and can understand fully the intent of a particular fire code. If after a structure fire, firefighters sit at the kitchen table and write a list of ways that fire could have been prevented from starting and spreading and how occupants could have been aided or hindered in their escape, you would have a rudimentary version—or even better—of the written fire code as it exists. All that would lack would be the formatting and technical jargon.
During training, firefighters train on saving the lives of others and themselves. Wouldn’t adding some basic fire codes be in accordance with those principles? By discussing fire codes and the flow of a fire inspection within a building, by explaining how to systematically look at a building, by sharing what to look for, by pointing out what’s a concern and what’s critical, and by providing questions to ask, crews can be provided with the structure that’s needed to apply the knowledge that they already have.
By then deploying these educated firefighters to their strategically located firehouses throughout the community, with a process and means to communicate what they see to the fire inspector’s office, a map of community hazards and what firefighters face begins to form for leadership. This is exactly what a battlefield commander needs when creating strategic plans and deciding on needed troops, resources and deployment, not to mention great information for budgeting needs and requests.
Intel & info
Any leader wants to maximize resources to efficiently increase productivity and produce the best service results possible. For fire chiefs, a strong and supported CRR program, integrated into the department’s operations, allows them to do just that. Intelligence and information are critical for any battle—exactly what a well-supported and integrated CRR program provides. A CRR program should be viewed as more than a public relations tool or a means to score a couple of points on accreditation or an ISO grade. It’s a necessary component to keeping a community safe and to living up to the ethos of the fire service of protecting lives and property.
