OAKLAND — Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed is on leave from her job for the second time this year.

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Editorial: Oakland fire chief clearly doesn’t get it, she should go A spokeswoman refused to say late Monday afternoon whether Reed’s absence is performance related. There is no current administrative investigation of the chief, she added. Reed did not return a phone message.

“The city does not comment on the leave status of employees,” said Erica Derryck, a spokesman for Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Department veteran Mark Hoffmann is serving as acting chief, Derryck said.

Reed was on leave most of January to help care for a sick family member, fire officials have said. She returned to work last week but began the second, unexplained leave midday Friday, fire sources said.

Reed’s absence comes as her department continues to investigate the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people and raised questions about the department’s ability to conduct safety inspections.

Shortly before her January leave, Reed went on a lengthy rant at a public meeting of a fire safety district in the Oakland Hills when residents raised questions about vegetation inspections designed to help prevent a repeat of the 1991 fire storm in which 25 people died. She even threatened to sue a person for criticizing her.

Reed came to Oakland five years ago after retiring from the San Jose Fire Department, where she draws a pension. Her Oakland pension with the California Public Employees Retirement System vests in early March.

Asked in January if she intended to remain Oakland chief past her vesting date, Reed said “that’s an inappropriate question” and refused to answer.

Staff writer David DeBolt contributed to this story.