Supervisor David Campos and Jane Kim want an interagency task force to develop legislation to improve fire safety, according to a press release from Campos’s office.
“We have seen a disproportionate number of fires in the Mission this year, causing tragic deaths, the displacement of families, and the displacement of small businesses. We are proposing a task force to ensure that all of our relevant city departments are working closely together to improve fire safety in our city,” said Supervisor Campos.
There have been at least four fires in the Mission since the beginning of the year, killing three people and displacing more than 100 tenants. In a major fire at 22nd and Mission Street, tenants said no alarm went off, exits were closed and some of the fire escapes failed to work. At least seven tenants had to be rescued from the building and one died from a heart attack.
The seven-person taskforce, according to the release, will include representatives from the Department of Building Inspections, the Fire Department, the Public Utilities Commission, The Department of Public Health and the City Attorney’s office, and will focus on fire safety in multi-unit residential and mixed-use buildings.
The press release said the task force will look at “the feasibility of requiring the installation of fire alarms and fire sprinklers in existing multi-unit buildings.”
Campos said the task force will also consider his proposals to allow housing inspectors to cite building owners when the annual certification for fire alarm systems is out of date, requires apartment building owners to post signs informing residents of their right to file an anonymous complaint with the Department of Building Inspection or 311 and expands the scope of fire investigations to include whether there were indeed violations of fire codes.
At present, tenants must complain for building inspectors to act, but an investigation by Mission Local made it clear that many tenants in low income buildings are unaware of their rights and fear losing their apartments if they do file complaints.
“In the spirit of our work to prevent fires in the first place, the task force will look at mandating sprinklers in residential apartment buildings,” said Supervisor Jane Kim. “When it comes to the safety of our residents, we must take every precaution. Sprinklers save lives, and we cannot afford to overlook this critical piece of the prevention effort.”