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Fire Marshal: SFFD is complaint-driven on warehouses; 15 complaints and three vacate orders to date
Summary
Fire Marshal Dan DeCocio told the commission the department has received about 15 complaints about illegal warehouse use and issued three orders to vacate when exits or change-of-use conditions posed imminent fatality risk; SFFD said it works with the City Attorney and other agencies on abatement and is open to coordinated random inspections.
Fire Marshal Dan DeCocio told the Fire Commission on Jan. 11 that the San Francisco Fire Department's authority to inspect occupancies is set by the State Fire Marshal and the Health & Safety Code, and that low-rise storage (S), mercantile (M) and some factory (F) occupancies typically are not subject to statewide annual inspections unless a sprinkler or fire-alarm system triggers SFFD review.
DeCocio said the department has about 1,000 warehouses/storage or fabrication facilities in the city and that, to date, it has received 15 complaints alleging illegal residential or assembly use of warehouse space. He said the department issues orders to vacate when two criteria are met: an illegal change of use that increases hazard and conditions of compromised or inadequate exiting such that fatalities would be likely in a fire. Of those 15 complaints, he said SFFD issued three orders to vacate; those sites have been abated or are pursuing formal change-of-use processes with planning and building departments.
DeCocio described examples that prompted vacate orders: a basement with more than 10 beds, blocked exits, barred windows and poor wiring; and an upholstery shop with a makeshift mezzanine populated with beds accessed by an unsafe plank and ladder and egress through an adjoining property.
Commissioners asked about enforcement, displacement and owner penalties. DeCocio said the fire code cites illegal change-of-use and unsafe buildings and that the department coordinates with the City Attorney's Office and other agencies to address displacement concerns and pursue owner enforcement, including NOV/hearing procedures. Chief Hayes White and other commissioners said they are open to coordinated random inspections but that SFFD is primarily complaint-driven at present.
What's next: The Fire Marshal will continue complaint investigations, refer enforcement to the City Attorney where appropriate, and said he will seek written clarification from the City Attorney on the definition and timing of "imminent danger" used to support vacate orders.
