The disastrous Ghost Ship fire has intensified long-simmering tensions between Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed and the city’s firefighters union, which for years has been lobbying behind the scenes to get her fired.
At the same time, however, African American community leaders are coming to the chief’s defense, complaining that Mayor Libby Schaaf’s administration may be setting her up to take the blame for the deadly fire.
Deloach Reed, a former assistant chief in San Jose, was tapped as chief in 2012 by then-Mayor Jean Quan, making her the first black woman to head a major fire department in the U.S.