In what an expert calls a “huge failure,” hundreds of residential and commercial buildings across Oakland were never inspected after firefighters flagged fire dangers and referred them for followup, including more than 200 apartment buildings housing thousands of residents, an investigation by the Bay Area News Group has found.
Records acquired from the city covering 2011 until early this year show that firefighters referred 879 properties for fire code issues to the Bureau of Fire Prevention, a number that includes the apartment buildings, plus commercial buildings and several schools.