The deadly Ghost Ship warehouse fire is in the spotlight once again, after a scathing report found the city of Oakland has been slow to increase fire inspections.
In the wake of the 2016 fire that killed 36 people, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf launched a task force to find out what happened and how to prevent similar warehouse death traps.
But last week a report from the city auditor found that Oakland Fire Department had made limited progress on many of the recommended reforms.
The auditor said the fire department “slow to learn from the past” and that less than half of all buildings considered “high risk” by state and city fire codes had been inspected by the city’s Fire Protection Bureau.
Auditor Courtney Ruby wrote "a sense of urgency and accountability must be ignited in the Oakland Fire Department."
“We appreciate the hard work of our city auditor who always help improve what we do,” said Schaaf, who nevertheless pushed back on the report’s finding. “Many of the suggestions and recommendations in the report are things that are already in process and being implemented.”
The report also said the bureau does not have enough staff to inspect the growing number of cannabis businesses in Oakland, which also pose a high fire risk.
This December will mark four years since the Ghost Ship warehouse fire.