A group of senior Los Angeles Fire Department inspectors says the agency has put the public at risk by cutting corners in a frantic effort to clear a backlog of thousands of large buildings overdue for safety reviews.
In interviews with The Times, the inspectors said their superiors have hurriedly deployed inexperienced firefighters to the task of examining buildings and lowered the standards for structures to comply with fire codes.
The result, the inspectors say, is that apartment houses, hospitals, studios, high rises and other buildings across the city have been improperly declared safe.
“They are changing the definition of what a complete inspection is,” said Capt. Gary Carpenter, a Fire Department veteran of 26 years. “They are saying the inspection is complete, and the public thinks the building is safe. The building is not safe.” In a statement Friday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said the inspectors' complaints are the subject of an internal LAFD investigation and an independent inquiry by the city's civilian Fire Commission.