The Code Violation System

Yamiche Alcindor is on the team of Times reporters looking into the aftermath of the fire.

On Wednesday, I set off to find out more about Oakland’s fire inspection codes, which have become a major focus since the fire.

Topping the list of people to contact was Zac Unger, vice president of Local 55, the Oakland firefighters union, who had told several news outlets that the Fire Department had suffered from mismanagement. After playing phone tag for part of the morning, Mr. Unger spoke with me for about half an hour and laid out what he said were years of problems in the department.

Specifically, Mr. Unger said he had complained regularly to city officials, telling them that the city does not have enough fire inspectors and that its Fire Department lacks proper resources. Mr. Unger also said he had openly criticized Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed for going several years without having a fire marshal to oversee whether the city was inspecting the proper number of buildings and potentially hazardous spaces.

“I said specifically the mismanagement of the Fire Department is going to lead to a tragedy and you need to do something about it now, and I am heartbroken to have been proven right and to have all of these people dead,” Mr. Unger said.

Still, it is too early to say if city officials could have done more to prevent the fire. Officials have not said how many times fire inspectors visited the Ghost Ship to check for fire hazards, or if city code inspectors ever flagged the building as being used for something other than its zoned purpose. (I am awaiting a response from the fire chief and other city officials.)

Sgt. Barry Donelan, the president of the Oakland Police Officers’ Association, said it was “ridiculous” to expect police officers responding to emergencies to also determine if the buildings they enter have dangerous living conditions. “My guys are trying to get out there and protect our community,” he said. “They are going to do their duties. But you can’t be effective in arrests and imposing building codes. That’s ludicrous.”