West Spokane business owner accuses fire inspector of unprofessional conduct; city schedules inspection

During the public-comment period, Kayla Cortelli, owner of American Fire Cash, told the council she had ongoing problems with a fire-inspection process and an inspector named DC Story. Cortelli said Story visited her business on four separate occasions, would not schedule appointments despite requests to avoid disrupting operations, and on one visit returned accompanied by a police officer and copies of the fire code.

"He told me, 'You don't have a choice. It's happening,'" Cortelli said, describing an interaction when she was holding her infant. Cortelli asked that a supervising chief be present during inspections because she had experienced repeated unprofessional behavior and said she had requested body-cam footage to document interactions. City Manager Tripp and staff acknowledged the issue and said scheduling the inspection should have been straightforward; staff said they would work with Chief Metzger and Inspector Story to schedule an inspection at a time that worked for the business. Cortelli said the inspection was scheduled for the next morning.