Mayor's Residence Is Repeat Fire Hazard Offender

Fire Department inspectors found mayor Jean Quan's residence in the Oakland hills in violation of fire safety code in 2007 and again in 2009. The inspection record for 2008 is not available because of a database conversion. Last month after an Oakland resident published new photographs of the Quan residence, the mayor admitted problems at her house again in 2011.

In 2007 Quan's house did not have a required 30-foot defensible perimeter around all buildings. She and her husband Floyd Huen, owners of the property, were also ordered to remove tree limbs within six feet of the ground and all dead vegetation. The conditions violated fire safety code designed to protect the Oakland hills. This Friday, October 20, 2011, marks twenty years since the Oakland hills firestorm.

The 1991 East Bay Hills conflagration was responsible for 25 deaths and over 150 injuries. The fatalities included Oakland police officer John Grubensky, and battalion chief Riley, who valiantly fought to help endangered citizens escape the fire. The fire consumed a total of 1,520 acres, with a fire perimeter of 5.25 miles. Nearly 2,000 automobiles were burned in the fire area, many of which were abandoned in the streets by residents who were trying to evacuate. (Quoted from "The Fire and Human Impact")

Paying no heed to the seriousness of protection from fire hazard in the hills, Quan and Huen were again in violation of safety code in 2009. An inspector told them they must "cut back tree limbs, grass, weeds from the roadside and adjacent property. Thin out ivy surrounding the structure. Cut weeds, grass on the left and right side of the structure (underneath stairway/walkway). Cut back ivy and berry vines in the rear of the property and next to the driveway/pathway on left."

The overgrowth hazards noted by the inspector two years ago were present in 2011, as recent photographs document. The mayor's violations attracted much media attention, in part because of rigorous inspections by the City building services division conducted at the homes of ordinary Oakland residents. Those inspections reveal a pattern of rushing to levy fines. No record was found of fines against Quan for the safety violations on her property.

Mayor Quan acknowledged at a press conference on Sept. 22, 2011 that she was out of compliance. However, she denied that the conditions constitute blight. Attempting to direct attention away from the fire hazards and make light of the matter, Quan said, "I would say that my garden may not be the most beautiful garden." ("Oakland Mayor Jean Quan accused of home blight," San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 23, 2011)