A San Francisco agency responsible for making sure all 259 public and private schools in the city are safe and prepared for fires and emergencies failed to inspect more than a third of them in fiscal 2017-18 — including 26 facilities the department didn’t know existed.
An audit of the San Francisco Fire Department’s Bureau of Fire Prevention by the city’s controller found systemic failure in the agency’s facilities database, inspection data tracking system, and foundational culture, including a lack of formal ethical guidelines. In 2018, the same year it skipped 95 schools, the bureau also failed to inspect 689 businesses.
The audit covered inspections conducted from the 2016-17 to the 2018-19 fiscal years and did not include updated comprehensive data through 2024, when the report was completed. But when staff from the controller’s office met with fire officials in May to relay the findings, they learned that nearly all of the issues remained unresolved.
‘Missed and delayed’
“Besides being contrary to state law, failing to inspect any school annually prevents the Bureau from addressing potential life and safety risks to students, teachers, and other employees, such as blocked fire exits and broken fire sprinklers,” the audit says. “Of course, the Bureau cannot inspect schools if it is unaware they exist.”
The audit found that the department failed to meet its requirement to inspect every school each year. In 2017-18, it missed 95. Between 2009 and 2019, 26 schools, all but one of them private, were missing entirely from the bureau’s database, which was not cross-referenced with state records. Those schools were never inspected. Since the controller met with the department in May, inspectors still have not reviewed one of those schools.
‘Of course, the Bureau cannot inspect schools if it is unaware they exist.’
Controller’s office audit
The 26 schools that were not inspected over the audit period included OnePurpose in the Bayview, Nomad in the Mission, the North Beach Fusion Academy, and the San Francisco Expeditionary School in Pacific Heights.
One facility, Proof School in the Mission, was not inspected for a decade. The department was informed about the oversight in May 2020 but didn’t perform an inspection until August 2021.
While the report does not indicate if the failure to inspect led directly to harm, there have been fires in the last three years in or near at least three San Francisco schools: Willie Brown Middle School in February 2022, Balboa High School in September 2023, and the Sterne School in June.
“The safety of students and staff is our highest priority,” a spokesperson for the San Francisco Unified School District said in a statement. “SFUSD works closely with the SF Fire Department to address any fire life safety issues.”
Fire Commission President Armie Morgan did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Ethical weaknesses’
The audit also reported results of a survey of members of the Bureau of Fire Prevention that found that 44% of inspectors believe they would be retaliated against if they were to report unethical behavior.
“The Bureau of Fire Prevention’s tone at the top does not demonstrate that leadership values ethics or responds to reports of ethical violations,” the report states.
Voters in March passed Proposition D, which fines city workers who fail to disclose work they do that benefits friends, family, or themselves. But bureau rules allow inspectors to review the homes and buildings of relatives and friends and to expedite permits, creating the potential for “preferential treatment of family members.”
Still, in contrast to many other Bay Area fire safety agencies, the department has no written ethical guidelines or annual ethics training.
While the department adopted a revised ethical code, it has no process for inspectors to report unethical behavior.
‘Operational weaknesses’
The report found that additional issues exist within the inspection process, including failure to document verbal warnings for minor but potentially chronic infractions, systemic deletion of data, and no tracking of temporary permitting for festivals and events, which are listed on a dry erase board.
The department said it plans to create a written policy to identify, track, and prioritize annual inspections. Unwritten policies allow for “annual” inspections to be conducted within 24 months.
The Fire Department blamed the workload backlogs on a staffing shortage, it told the controller’s office. It has since added two inspector positions to the 13 assigned to schools, high-rise residences, commercial buildings, and permitting.
The controller’s audit states that nine of its 10 recommendations remain unresolved. Bureau leaders agreed with every one of the findings and recommendations, in whole or in part, a department spokesperson said, and admitted that there is more to be done.
“The department is constantly working to improve itself and its efficiency. With this new information presented, we have started to look [at] how we can” improve, Lt. Mariano Elias said in a statement.
Correction: OnePurpose is a private school.