SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Bureau of Fire Prevention failed to conduct annual inspections for dozens of schools between 2009 and 2019, according to an audit.
The 46-page audit, conducted by the city’s controller, found systemic failures in the agency’s facilities database, inspection data tracking system, and foundational culture, including a lack of formal ethical guidelines, The San Francisco Standard reports.
During the 2017-18 fiscal year, the agency failed to inspect more than a third of the city’s 259 public and private schools. In 2018, it skipped 95 schools and failed to inspect 689 businesses.
Between 2009 and 2019, 26 schools, all but one of them private, were missing entirely from the bureau’s database because it relied on an incomplete list of schools.
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The audit did not include updated data through 2024 when the report was completed. When staff from the controller’s office met with fire officials in May to share the findings, they learned that nine out of its 10 recommendations remained unresolved, despite bureau leaders agreeing with each of the findings, in full or in part, according to The San Francisco Standard.
“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. “The Bureau is likely to continue to have schools missing from its database if it does not periodically reconcile its data to the state school directory. Of course, the Bureau cannot inspect schools if it is unaware they exist.”
Although the report does not indicate the lack of inspections caused harm, there have been fires in the last three years in or near at least three city schools, including Willie Brown Middle School in Feb. 2022, Balboa High School in Sept. 2023, and the Sterne School in June 2024.
“The safety of students and staff is our highest priority,” a spokesperson for the San Francisco Unified School District wrote in a statement. “SFUSD works closely with the SF Fire Department to address any fire life safety issues.”
Poor Leadership Highlighted in Audit
The audit also found “ethical weaknesses” within the bureau. A survey of its members found 44% of inspectors believe they would be retaliated against if they were to report unethical behavior. The agency also has no written ethical guidelines or annual ethics training for employees.
“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.
Despite voters passing a proposition in March that fines city workers who fail to disclose work they do that benefits friends, family members, or themselves, the report also found bureau rules allow inspectors to review the homes and buildings of relatives and friends and to expedite permits.
Operational Weaknesses within Bureau
The audit also determined the bureau had significant data management and inspection process shortcomings. Scheduled inspection dates were sometimes deleted from the bureau’s database, contributing to delays and missed inspections, according Axios San Francisco.
The report also found failures to document verbal warnings for minor but potentially chronic infractions and no tracking of temporary permitting for festivals and events.
To remedy the issues, the department said it plans to create a written policy to identify, track, and prioritize annual inspections.
San Francisco Fire Marshal Speaks Out
The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) told the controller’s office that the workload backlogs were due to a staffing shortage, noting it has since added two inspector positions to the 13 already assigned to schools, high-rise residences, commercial building, and permitting.
The department’s fire marshal’s office conducted its own investigation, telling Axios that a majority of the schools on the list are now closed.
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“The real number is three schools that were not being inspected and this has been corrected,” said fire marshal Ken Cofflin, noting those schools will undergo annual inspections next week.
SFFD also said an assistant fire marshal is now assigned to confirm the school list and ensure completion of inspections.
