OAKLAND – The city’s management of its vacant properties and communication between departments is under scrutiny after a fire battalion chief complained that little to nothing was done to secure an empty library building after a fire there in April and a second, larger blaze weeks later where a firefighter broke his ankle.

The 99-year-old Miller Avenue Library, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places, has been vacant for years and overrun by squatters. After an April 8 fire, the building was ordered boarded up. But people quickly got inside again and a larger, more destructive fire broke out April 25. It was at that fire that an unidentified firefighter was injured.

“We expect the citizens and property owners of this city to maintain and take responsibility for their properties. We (the city) need to hold ourselves to the same if not higher expectations,” Battalion Chief James Bowron wrote in a May 5 email to co-acting Fire Chief Darin White. He criticized the Public Works Department for a “laissez-faire approach” to securing the building.

“Obviously, public works failed us,” Bowron wrote.

City spokeswoman Karen Boyd said the Public Works Department responded immediately after the first fire and boarded up the old building. But it was not placed under watch and squatters took over again.

Coming five months after the fatal Ghost Ship fire that killed 36 people and an April fire at a San Pablo Avenue halfway house that killed four, the library building interviews and emails show city departments continue to struggle to communicate about safety matters.

Councilman Noel Gallo, who represents the Fruitvale district, said he’s been complaining about the building for months. Gallo said prostitutes and gang members from the neighborhood are using the former library as shelter and to turn tricks and do drugs.

He feared the city wouldn’t take the problem seriously until someone got hurt or, even worse, died.

“It has been a challenge,” Gallo said. “We kick people out, we board it up and they come back in.”

Last week Gallo took two reporters into the building through an open basement window, and showed a warren of small spaces where people had been living before the second fire. Despite heavy fire damage, gang graffiti was still visible inside.

Thursday, though, windows were heavily boarded up and signs warning of possible asbestos dangers were posted around the building. A security guard on duty said it was his first day of work there, and a crew from an environmental cleanup firm worked to board it up and figure out how to deal with asbestos inside the building. A larger dumpster was placed behind the building near a community garden.

Oakland firefighter union Vice President Zac Unger had concerns over city department communication.

“Fighting fires is a team effort and we need all departments in the city to work together efficiently in order to keep the public safe,” he said.

Dan Keller, 62, moved into a warehouse a block away from the library two years ago and has kept an eye on the old building.

“I know squatters have been coming and going. You can see evidence of people going through the fence and that’s related to the housing crisis,” he said. “Any time a building is clearly unused, that’s an invitation for anyone who wants a dry place.”

Keller hopes the building, despite its dilapidated state, will be restored to its former glory.

“We want to save it and bring it back to life,” Keller said. “There’s some real gems in this neighborhood and it’ll be great again.”

Another neighbor, who did not want his name used, said the city was wasting time working on the building. He was more concerned about walking his kids past discarded needles, prostitutes drawn to the location and illegal dumping. He pointed out gallons of oil dumped at the corner, along with an assortment of trash.