chapter 4, fire hazards

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4 |

FIR

E H

AZ

AR

DS

4.1

|

OV

ER

VIE

W

Ch

ara

cteri

stic

s Fi

re i

s a

uniq

ue h

azar

d in

tha

t it

can

resu

lt bo

th f

rom

nat

ural

proc

esse

s and

from

the

inte

ntio

nal o

r acc

iden

tal a

ctio

ns o

f peo

ple.

The

re a

re th

ree

main

ty

pes

of fi

re h

azar

ds: w

ildfir

es, w

hich

aff

ect o

pen

spac

e an

d de

velo

pmen

t on

the

urba

n fr

inge

; stru

ctur

al fir

es, w

hich

occ

ur in

bui

ldin

gs; a

nd in

dust

rial f

ires,

whi

ch r

esul

t fro

m

the

igni

tion

of h

azar

dous

mat

erial

s. W

hile

fires

are

not

ent

irely

prev

enta

ble,

it is

poss

ible

to c

reat

e co

nditi

ons

that

redu

ce th

e ch

ance

s of

fire

and

that

facil

itate

effi

cient

resp

onse

in

cas

e fir

e br

eaks

out

. W

hen

a fir

e do

es ig

nite

, qui

ck re

spon

se fr

om fi

refig

hter

s an

d an

ad

equa

te su

pply

of w

ater

are

ess

entia

l in

min

imiz

ing

dam

age.

Key vu

lnera

bil

ity fa

ctors

Gen

eral

fact

ors

that

aff

ect

an a

rea’s

risk

fro

m f

ire

haza

rds i

nclu

de it

s loc

atio

n, la

nd u

ses,

dist

ance

from

fire

stat

ions

, eas

e of

acc

essib

ility

by

fire-

fight

ing

equi

pmen

t, an

d ad

equa

cy o

f w

ater

sup

ply.

Mor

e sp

ecifi

cally

, the

ext

ent,

seve

rity

and

dam

age

of fi

res a

re d

eter

min

ed b

y se

vera

l key

fact

ors a

ffec

ting

vuln

erab

ility

. Fo

r the

thre

e ty

pes o

f fire

exa

min

ed in

the

safe

ty e

lemen

t, th

ese

vuln

erab

ilitie

s inc

lude

: ●

Wild

fires

: ste

ep a

nd ru

gged

topo

grap

hy, d

ense

and

unm

anag

ed v

eget

atio

n (e

spec

ially

woo

ds a

nd b

rush

), ac

cess

ibili

ty t

o hu

man

act

iviti

es,

expo

sure

to

win

d an

d su

n,

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 54

drou

ght

cond

ition

s, an

d th

e pr

esen

ce o

f ab

ove-

grou

nd u

tility

lin

es.

The

wild

-lan

d/ur

ban

inte

rfac

e is

an e

spec

ially

haza

rdou

s ar

ea b

ecau

se it

com

bine

s a

resid

ent

popu

latio

n w

ith l

arge

are

as o

f co

mbu

stib

le m

ater

ial (

inclu

ding

stru

ctur

es),

and

is of

ten

char

acte

rized

by

sub-

stan

dard

wat

er s

uppl

ies a

nd a

dist

ant

loca

tion

from

fire

st

atio

ns.

The

time

of th

e ye

ar o

f hig

h w

ildfir

e da

nger

is fr

om M

ay to

Oct

ober

, whe

n te

mpe

ratu

res

are

high

er a

nd h

umid

ity is

low

er.

The

close

r to

the

end

of

this

“fire

se

ason

,” th

e m

ore

criti

cal t

he d

ange

r is,

as v

eget

atio

n be

com

es in

crea

singl

y dr

y. ●

Stru

ctur

al fir

es (e

xclu

ding

indu

stria

l bui

ldin

gs, w

hich

are

disc

usse

d be

low

): Es

pecia

lly

vuln

erab

le bu

ildin

g an

d lan

d-us

e ty

pes

inclu

de h

igh-

rise

build

ings

, m

ulti-

fam

ily

dwell

ings

, and

hig

h-de

nsity

resid

entia

l neig

hbor

hood

s; pl

aces

of m

ass

asse

mbl

y, su

ch

as s

choo

ls, s

tadi

ums,

audi

toriu

ms

and

shop

ping

cen

ters

; st

ruct

ures

con

stru

cted

be

fore

cur

rent

fire

and

bui

ldin

g co

des;

inst

itutio

ns s

uch

as h

ospi

tals

and

jails

that

ho

use

peop

le of

lim

ited

mob

ility

; and

dow

ntow

ns a

nd o

ther

hig

h-de

nsity

com

mer

cial

dist

ricts

. ●

Indu

stria

l fir

es:

Esp

ecial

ly vu

lner

able

facil

ities

inc

lude

lar

ge i

ndus

trial

com

plex

es,

inclu

ding

sea

ports

and

airp

orts

, an

d bu

sines

ses

and

othe

r “t

arge

t ha

zard

s” w

ith

subs

tant

ial c

once

ntra

tions

of

high

ly co

mbu

stib

le an

d to

xic

mat

erial

s. B

ecau

se o

f th

eir n

atur

e, in

dust

rial f

ires

are

cove

red

in th

e “H

azar

dous

Mat

erial

s” c

hapt

er r

athe

r th

an in

this

chap

ter.

Rela

tion

ship

to e

art

hq

uakes

W

hile

fires

usu

ally

happ

en a

s sta

nd-a

lone

eve

nts,

the

thre

at o

f ex

tens

ive

fire

dam

age

is gr

eate

st f

ollo

win

g a

majo

r ea

rthqu

ake.

Stro

ng

earth

quak

es c

an ru

ptur

e ga

s lin

es a

nd d

own

elect

ric li

nes,

whi

ch c

an, i

n tu

rn, s

park

fire

s.

The

seve

rity

of fi

res

occu

rrin

g un

der

thos

e cir

cum

stan

ces

wou

ld li

kely

be c

ompo

unde

d by

the

acc

ompa

nyin

g fa

ilure

of

wat

er m

ains

(whi

ch w

ould

ham

per

fire-

supp

ress

ion

effo

rts)

and

dam

age

to r

oads

and

ove

rpas

ses

(whi

ch w

ould

res

trict

the

eva

cuat

ion

of

peop

le an

d ac

cess

by

emer

genc

y ve

hicle

s).

In t

he p

ast,

stro

ng e

arth

quak

es in

the

Bay

Are

a ha

ve b

een

follo

wed

by

fires

req

uirin

g th

e ex

tens

ive

invo

lvem

ent

of p

rofe

ssio

nal

firef

ight

ers,

a rela

tions

hip

that

is li

kely

to c

ontin

ue.

Th

e 1

99

1 O

akla

nd

/B

erk

ele

y H

ills

Fir

e

A s

ubst

antia

l fire

occ

urre

d in

the

Nor

th

Oak

land

hills

in 1

970

that

con

sum

ed 2

00 a

cres

and

des

troye

d 37

hom

es.

Rega

rdin

g th

is fir

e, th

e cit

y’s o

rigin

al sa

fety

elem

ent

prop

hetic

ally

stat

ed t

hat

“for

tuna

tely

[a]

disa

ster

ha

s no

t occ

urre

d bu

t the

pot

entia

l for

suc

h a

disa

ster

is s

till r

eal.”

In

the

mor

ning

of

Sund

ay, O

ctob

er 2

0, 1

991,

flam

es b

roke

out

in a

resid

entia

l can

yon

wes

t of G

rizzl

y Pe

ak

Boul

evar

d an

d th

e Ca

ldec

ott T

unne

l. T

he fl

ames

—fu

eled

by re

cord

-hig

h te

mpe

ratu

res,

five

year

s of

dro

ught

con

ditio

ns, f

reez

e-da

mag

ed g

rove

s of

tre

es, a

nd s

trong

, hot

, dry

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

55 | Fire Hazards

win

ds—

leapt

qui

ckly

and

easil

y ac

ross

par

cels.

In

littl

e m

ore

than

15

min

utes

, the

fire

ha

d go

ne o

ut o

f co

ntro

l. I

t is

said

that

dur

ing

its f

irst t

hree

hou

rs, t

he f

ire c

onsu

med

on

e ho

use

ever

y 11

sec

onds

. It

too

k m

ore

than

1,8

00 f

ire p

erso

nnel

usin

g ov

er 4

00

piec

es o

f eq

uipm

ent,

inclu

ding

20

helic

opte

rs a

nd a

irplan

es, t

o su

bdue

the

fire

. Th

e co

nflag

ratio

n—w

hich

bec

ame

know

n as

the

Oak

land/

Berk

eley

Hill

s fir

esto

rm, o

r th

e Tu

nnel

fire—

was

not

off

iciall

y de

clare

d un

der

cont

rol

until

8 a

m o

n W

edne

sday

, O

ctob

er 2

3; b

y th

en, i

t ha

d be

com

e th

e co

stlie

st w

ildfir

e in

U.S

. hist

ory,

caus

ing

25

deat

hs, 1

50 in

jurie

s, th

e de

stru

ctio

n of

mor

e th

an 3

,000

hom

es, a

nd a

ppro

xim

ately

$1.

5 bi

llion

in p

rope

rty d

amag

e. Th

is di

sast

er le

d to

num

erou

s new

regu

latio

ns a

t the

stat

e an

d lo

cal l

evels

. A

s a re

sult

of

the

fire,

real-

esta

te

selle

rs

stat

ewid

e, fo

r ex

ampl

e, ar

e no

w

requ

ired

to

info

rm

pros

pect

ive

buye

rs if

a r

esid

entia

l pro

perty

lies

with

in a

zon

e of

ver

y hi

gh f

ire-h

azar

d se

verit

y. T

he f

ire a

lso p

rom

pted

the

sta

te t

o cr

eate

the

Sta

ndar

dize

d E

mer

genc

y M

anag

emen

t Sy

stem

(SE

MS;

see

cha

pter

2, “

Em

erge

ncy

Man

agem

ent”

), a

fram

ewor

k fo

r st

anda

rdiz

ing

emer

genc

y-re

spon

se p

roce

dure

s th

roug

hout

Cali

forn

ia an

d fa

cilita

ting

the

flow

of i

nfor

mat

ion

and

reso

urce

s am

ong

agen

cies.

At t

he lo

cal l

evel,

Oak

land

and

man

y ne

ighb

orin

g ju

risdi

ctio

ns s

treng

then

ed th

eir b

uild

ing

and

fire-

prev

entio

n co

des

by

plac

ing

new

or a

dditi

onal

regu

latio

ns o

n th

e se

para

tion

of b

uild

ings

, ven

tilat

ion

crite

ria,

roof

mat

erial

s, lan

dsca

ping

, bu

ildin

g ac

cess

, an

d th

e in

stall

atio

n of

aut

omat

ic fir

e-ex

tingu

ishin

g sy

stem

s in

publ

ic bu

ildin

gs.

4.2

|

IN

STIT

UTIO

NA

L F

RA

MEW

OR

K

Oakla

nd

Fir

e D

ep

art

men

t (O

FD

)

OFD

is th

e ag

ency

with

prim

ary

resp

onsib

ility

fo

r pr

even

ting

and

supp

ress

ing

fires

in O

aklan

d.

Besid

es f

ight

ing

accid

enta

l fire

s an

d ar

son,

O

FD

cond

ucts

fir

e-sa

fety

in

spec

tions

an

d pl

an

chec

ks

of

build

ings

an

d bu

sines

ses;

prov

ides

fire

-dan

ger p

atro

ls an

d iss

ues

publ

ic w

arni

ngs

durin

g tim

es o

f hig

h fir

e da

nger

; co

nduc

ts v

eget

atio

n-m

anag

emen

t in

spec

tions

; re

spon

ds t

o ha

zard

ous-

mat

erial

s sp

ills;

over

sees

the

Oak

land

Offi

ce o

f E

mer

genc

y Se

rvice

s; iss

ues

perm

its fo

r fa

irs, c

arni

vals,

pyr

otec

hnic

disp

lays a

nd o

ther

spec

ial e

vent

s; of

fers

clas

ses

to th

e pu

blic

on f

irst

aid a

nd c

ardi

o-pu

lmon

ary

resu

scita

tion;

pro

vide

s on

-site

tra

inin

g to

loc

al

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 56

busin

esse

s on

bas

ic em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

; and

teac

hes

basic

per

sona

l fire

-saf

ety

and

fire-

prev

entio

n pr

actic

es to

scho

ol c

hild

ren.

O

FD is

ofte

n th

e fir

st a

genc

y ca

lled

in t

he e

vent

of

med

ical a

nd o

ther

em

erge

ncies

. Th

roug

h its

em

erge

ncy

med

ical

serv

ices

(EM

S) d

ivisi

on,

OFD

has

bee

n pr

ovid

ing

roun

d-th

e-clo

ck p

aram

edic

serv

ice to

Oak

land

resid

ents

sinc

e 20

00.

(Am

bulan

ce se

rvice

is

prov

ided

by

priv

ate

com

pani

es u

nder

con

tract

with

Alam

eda

Coun

ty).

Eve

ry f

ire-

stat

ion

engi

ne i

n O

aklan

d ha

s at

lea

st o

ne p

aram

edic

on s

taff

to p

rovi

de a

dvan

ced

med

ical c

are;

in a

dditi

on, a

ll fir

efig

hter

s are

cer

tified

em

erge

ncy

med

ical t

echn

ician

s, ab

le to

pro

vide

bas

ic ca

re.

The

EM

S di

visio

n als

o di

strib

utes

equ

ipm

ent

and

supp

lies

for

life-

supp

ort

serv

ices,

and

prov

ides

tra

inin

g an

d co

ntin

uing

edu

catio

n to

ens

ure

that

ce

rtific

atio

n an

d lic

ensin

g re

quire

men

ts a

re c

urre

nt f

or a

ll O

FD p

erso

nnel.

Fi

nally

, O

FD s

pons

ors

Calif

orni

a Ta

sk F

orce

4 (

CATF

-4),

a te

am o

f fir

efig

hter

s, do

ctor

s, pa

ram

edics

, se

arch

-dog

han

dler

s, st

ruct

ural

engi

neer

s an

d ot

her

spec

ialist

s tra

ined

in

“urb

an se

arch

and

resc

ue”

(US&

R).

The

task

forc

e po

sses

ses a

hig

h lev

el of

exp

ertis

e in

m

edica

l, re

scue

and

tec

hnica

l sk

ills,

and

the

spec

ializ

ed e

quip

men

t ne

eded

to

resc

ue

vict

ims

trapp

ed in

bui

ldin

g co

llaps

es, i

ndus

trial

accid

ents

, tra

nspo

rtatio

n di

sast

ers

and

othe

r co

mpl

ex s

ituat

ions

. CA

TF-4

is o

ne o

f eig

ht U

S&R

team

s in

Cali

forn

ia an

d 28

na

tionw

ide

that

may

be

mob

ilize

d w

ithin

hou

rs to

resp

ond

to e

mer

genc

ies a

nyw

here

in

the

coun

try.

Loca

l re

gu

lati

on

s

Oak

land’

s fire

-pro

tect

ion

stan

dard

s for

con

stru

ctio

n ar

e ba

sed

on

Title

24

of th

e Ca

lifor

nia

Code

of R

egul

atio

ns (s

ee a

bove

), sp

ecifi

cally

on

the

Calif

orni

a Bu

ildin

g Co

de (

CBC)

and

the

Cali

forn

ia Fi

re C

ode

(CFC

). O

aklan

d, li

ke m

any

othe

r lo

calit

ies i

n Ca

lifor

nia,

has

amen

ded

thes

e co

des

to r

eflec

t lo

cal

cond

ition

s. A

no

tew

orth

y lo

cal

fire-

relat

ed a

men

dmen

t to

the

CBC

is

the

addi

tion

of a

cha

pter

pr

ovid

ing

for s

pecia

l con

stru

ctio

n re

quire

men

ts in

fire

-haz

ard

area

s, in

the

area

dam

aged

by

the

199

1 O

aklan

d hi

lls f

ire, a

nd in

are

as c

over

ed b

y th

e N

orth

Oak

land

Hill

Are

a Sp

ecifi

c Pl

an.

This

amen

dmen

t disc

usse

s fire

-res

istiv

e w

alls a

nd ro

ofs,

the

sepa

ratio

n of

bu

ildin

gs to

min

imiz

e po

tent

ial fi

re sp

read

, and

aut

omat

ic fir

e-ex

tingu

ishin

g sy

stem

s. A

dditi

onall

y, th

e cit

y ha

s ena

cted

a n

umbe

r of p

rovi

sions

per

tain

ing

to la

nd su

bdiv

ision

s an

d se

cond

ary

units

that

relat

e to

fire

saf

ety

and

ingr

ess/

egre

ss, i

nclu

ding

the

wid

th a

nd

grad

e of

stre

ets,

min

imum

stre

et-c

urva

ture

rad

ii, in

stall

atio

n of

fire

hyd

rant

s an

d st

reet

de

sign

in h

illsid

e su

bdiv

ision

s. A

lso, t

he c

ity’s

mun

icipa

l cod

e ha

s ch

apte

rs r

egul

atin

g th

e lo

catio

n, d

esig

n an

d as

signm

ent o

f bui

ldin

g nu

mbe

rs, a

nd a

lso th

e us

e an

d de

sign

of

bedr

oom

s th

at h

ave

win

dow

s or

doo

rs w

ith s

ecur

ity b

ars.

Fin

ally,

vario

us s

ectio

ns o

f

Reg

ula

tions

per

tain

ing t

o lan

d

subdiv

isio

ns

rela

ted t

o fire

safe

ty a

nd

ingre

ss/e

gre

ss a

re found in c

hap

ters

or

sect

ions

16.1

6, 16.2

0.0

30, 16.2

4.0

40,

16.2

8.0

40 a

nd 1

6.3

2 o

f th

e O

akla

nd

Munic

ipal

Code;

reg

ula

tions

per

tain

ing t

o

seco

ndar

y units

are

found in s

ections

17.1

02.3

60;

regula

tions

conce

rnin

g

build

ing n

um

ber

s ar

e fo

und in c

hap

ter

15.4

0;

regula

tions

regar

din

g b

edro

om

se

curity

bar

s ar

e fo

und in c

hap

ter

15.6

4;

and t

he

Oak

land H

ousi

ng C

ode

is found

in c

hap

ter

15.0

8.

Loca

l am

endm

ents

to t

he

Cal

iforn

ia (

or U

nifor

m)

Fire

Code

are

found in c

hap

ter

15.1

2 o

f th

e O

akla

nd M

unic

ipal

Cod

e. The

amen

dm

ent

to t

he

Cal

iforn

ia B

uild

ing C

ode

regar

din

g s

pec

ial fire

-re

late

d c

onst

ruct

ion r

equirem

ents

is

found in

sect

ion 1

5.0

4.7

85 o

f th

e m

unic

ipal

cod

e.

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

57 | Fire Hazards

the

hous

ing

code

call

for

the

use

of

fire-

resis

tant

con

stru

ctio

n an

d th

e pr

ovisi

on o

f sm

oke

dete

ctor

s an

d ad

equa

te f

ire-e

xtin

guish

ing

syst

ems

or e

quip

men

t. T

he B

uild

ing

Serv

ices

Div

ision

of

the

city’s

Com

mun

ity a

nd E

cono

mic

Dev

elopm

ent

Age

ncy

(CE

DA

) is

resp

onsib

le fo

r en

forc

ing

the

city’s

va

rious

co

des

whe

n re

view

ing

cons

truct

ion

proj

ects

subm

itted

for o

fficia

l app

rova

l. In

ter-

ag

en

cy c

oo

pera

tion

I

n ad

ditio

n to

gen

eral

mut

ual-a

id a

gree

men

ts (s

ee t

he

“Em

erge

ncy

Man

agem

ent”

ch

apte

r),

Oak

land

has

ente

red

into

ag

reem

ents

w

ith

adjo

inin

g ju

risdi

ctio

ns f

or c

oope

rativ

e re

spon

se t

o fir

es.

T

hese

agr

eem

ents

help

pr

otec

t O

aklan

d re

siden

ts a

nd b

usin

ess

situa

ted

near

er t

he f

ire s

tatio

ns o

f ad

join

ing

juris

dict

ions

and

also

fro

m f

ires

orig

inat

ing

outs

ide

city

boun

darie

s. O

aklan

d ha

s m

utua

l-res

pons

e ag

reem

ents

for

fire

pro

tect

ion

with

Alam

eda

and

Cont

ra C

osta

co

untie

s, th

e E

ast

Bay

Regi

onal

Park

Dist

rict

(EBR

PD)

and

the

cities

of

Alam

eda,

Berk

eley,

Em

eryv

ille,

Pied

mon

t and

San

Lea

ndro

. (E

BRPD

has

its o

wn

fire

depa

rtmen

t, w

ith s

taff

and

equ

ipm

ent

dist

ribut

ed a

mon

g fiv

e pa

rk u

nits

, of

whi

ch T

ilden

is

the

close

st to

Oak

land.

) In

add

ition

, the

OFD

is a

mem

ber o

f the

Hill

s E

mer

genc

y Fo

rum

(H

EF)

and

Diab

lo F

ireSa

fe C

ounc

il (D

FC).

HE

F is

a co

alitio

n of

gov

ernm

ent a

genc

ies

and

spec

ial d

istric

ts th

at c

oord

inat

e th

e co

llect

ion

and

asse

ssm

ent o

f inf

orm

atio

n re

lated

to

fire

haz

ards

in

the

Eas

t Ba

y hi

lls,

and

deve

lops

fire

-saf

ety

stan

dard

s an

d co

des,

incid

ent-r

espo

nse

and

man

agem

ent

prot

ocol

s, an

d fu

el-re

duct

ion

stra

tegi

es.

DFC

is a

pa

rtner

ship

am

ong

gove

rnm

ent a

nd p

rivat

e-se

ctor

org

aniz

atio

ns w

orki

ng to

pre

vent

ion

wild

fires

in A

lamed

a an

d Co

ntra

Cos

ta c

ount

ies.

Cali

forn

ia D

ep

art

men

t o

f Fore

stry

an

d F

ire P

rote

ctio

n (

CD

F)

Th

e CD

F ha

s pr

imar

y re

spon

sibili

ty f

or p

reve

ntin

g an

d su

ppre

ssin

g fir

es o

n m

ore

than

31

mill

ion

acre

s of

non

-fede

ral

wild

lands

in

Calif

orni

a. T

he d

epar

tmen

t als

o re

spon

ds t

o th

ousa

nds

of n

on-w

ildfir

e em

erge

ncies

ann

ually

, in

cludi

ng c

ar c

rash

es,

haza

rdou

s-m

ater

ials

spill

s an

d m

edica

l call

s. A

mon

g CD

F’s

seve

ral d

ivisi

ons

is th

e O

ffice

of

the

Stat

e Fi

re M

arsh

al (O

SFM

), th

e du

ties o

f whi

ch in

clude

regu

latin

g fla

mm

able

subs

tanc

es

and

cons

umer

pro

duct

s; pr

ovid

ing

stat

ewid

e gu

idan

ce o

n fir

e pr

even

tion

in w

ildlan

d ar

eas;

prov

idin

g pl

an r

eview

and

con

stru

ctio

n in

spec

tions

for a

ll st

ate-

owne

d an

d st

ate-

occu

pied

fac

ilitie

s in

Cali

forn

ia; a

nd r

egul

atin

g in

trast

ate

haza

rdou

s-liq

uid

pipe

lines

. CD

F, in

cludi

ng S

FM, e

nfor

ces m

ost o

f the

stat

e’s fi

re-r

elate

d law

s (se

e be

low

).

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 58

Sta

te l

aw

s an

d r

eg

ula

tion

s

The

Stat

e of

Cali

forn

ia ha

s pa

ssed

num

erou

s law

s to

ad

dres

s bot

h w

ildlan

d an

d st

ruct

ural

fires

. W

ildfir

e-pr

even

tion

laws r

egul

ate

activ

ities

in

area

s dee

med

by

the

stat

e to

be

“haz

ardo

us fi

re a

reas

;” th

e m

ainte

nanc

e of

bui

ldin

gs a

nd

othe

r stru

ctur

es in

are

as c

over

ed b

y fo

rest

, bru

sh o

r oth

er fl

amm

able

mat

erial

s; an

d th

e se

tting

and

bur

ning

of f

ires o

n op

en la

nd.

Spec

ific

issue

s add

ress

ed in

clude

the

build

ing

of c

ampf

ires,

smok

ing,

the

use

of fi

rew

orks

, the

pro

visio

n of

fire

brea

ks, t

he d

esig

n an

d m

ainte

nanc

e of

roof

s and

chi

mne

y ou

tlets

, per

mits

for b

urni

ng a

nd b

lastin

g, a

nd th

e us

e of

spa

rk-e

mitt

ing

devi

ces.

Law

s aim

ed a

t pre

vent

ing

stru

ctur

al fir

es e

stab

lish

fire-

safe

ty

stan

dard

s fo

r hi

gh-ri

se s

truct

ures

, pu

blic-

asse

mbl

y bu

ildin

gs,

hote

ls an

d m

otels

, an

d in

stitu

tiona

l fa

ciliti

es s

uch

as h

ospi

tals,

con

vales

cent

hom

es,

child

day

-car

e ce

nter

s, fo

ster

hom

es, g

roup

hom

es, t

empo

rary

shel

ters

, and

pris

ons a

nd ja

ils.

Law

s also

add

ress

th

e pr

ovisi

on o

f sm

oke

dete

ctor

s, po

rtabl

e fir

e ex

tingu

isher

s, an

d fir

e sp

rinkl

ers

and

othe

r au

tom

atic

fire-

extin

guish

ing

syst

ems.

In

addi

tion,

ow

ners

mus

t di

sclo

se t

o pr

ospe

ctiv

e bu

yers

of

real-

esta

te p

rope

rty t

he e

xist

ence

of

any

haza

rds,

inclu

ding

lo

catio

n in

a fi

re-h

azar

d se

verit

y zo

ne.

Cali

forn

ia C

od

e o

f R

eg

ula

tion

s (C

CR

) Tit

le 2

4

Titl

e 24

of t

he C

CR (“

Calif

orni

a Bu

ildin

g St

anda

rds

Code

”) s

ets

forth

the

fire

, lif

e-sa

fety

and

oth

er b

uild

ing-

relat

ed

regu

latio

ns a

pplic

able

to a

ny s

truct

ure

fit f

or o

ccup

ancy

sta

tew

ide

for

whi

ch a

bui

ldin

g pe

rmit

is so

ught

. Th

e 20

01 t

rienn

ial e

ditio

n of

Titl

e 24

con

tain

s 11

par

ts, i

nclu

ding

(w

ith b

rief d

escr

iptio

ns):

● Pa

rt 2,

Cali

forn

ia Bu

ildin

g Co

de: g

ener

al st

anda

rds f

or th

e de

sign

and

cons

truct

ion

of

build

ings

, inc

ludi

ng p

rovi

sions

relat

ed to

fire

, life

safe

ty a

nd st

ruct

ural

safe

ty.

● Pa

rt 3,

Cali

forn

ia E

lectri

cal C

ode:

elect

rical

build

ing

stan

dard

s. ●

Part

4, C

alifo

rnia

Mec

hani

cal

Code

: m

echa

nica

l st

anda

rds

relat

ed t

o th

e de

sign,

co

nstru

ctio

n, i

nsta

llatio

n, a

nd m

ainte

nanc

e of

hea

ting,

ven

tilat

ing,

coo

ling,

and

re

frig

erat

ion

syst

ems a

nd o

f hea

t-pro

ducin

g ap

plian

ces.

● Pa

rt 9,

Cali

forn

ia Fi

re C

ode

(CFC

): bu

ildin

g st

anda

rds

relat

ed to

fire

saf

ety

that

are

re

fere

nced

in o

ther

par

ts o

f Titl

e 24

. To

pics

add

ress

ed in

the

code

inclu

de a

utom

atic

sprin

kler

syst

ems,

fire-

alarm

syst

ems,

acce

ss b

y fir

e-fig

htin

g eq

uipm

ent,

fire

hydr

ants,

ex

plos

ion-

haza

rds

safe

ty,

haza

rdou

s-m

ater

ials

stor

age

and

use,

prot

ectio

n fo

r fir

st

resp

onde

rs, i

ndus

trial

proc

esse

s, an

d m

any

othe

r ge

nera

l and

spe

cializ

ed f

ire-s

afet

y re

quire

men

ts fo

r new

and

exi

stin

g bu

ildin

gs a

nd p

rem

ises.

The

CFC

is b

ased

on

the

Uni

form

Fire

Cod

e (U

FC),

a “m

odel”

cod

e ad

opte

d th

roug

h na

tiona

l-lev

el co

nsen

sus

and

whi

ch d

oes n

ot c

arry

the

weig

ht o

f law

(unl

ike

the

CFC)

. Th

e CF

C in

corp

orat

es

by re

fere

nce

the

text

of t

he la

test

pub

lishe

d U

FC, a

nd re

flect

s add

ition

s and

dele

tions

m

ade

to th

e U

FC b

y th

e st

ate.

Sta

te r

egula

tions

per

tain

ing t

o w

ildfire

pre

vention

are

found p

rim

arily

in s

ections

4251-4

290, 4291-

4299 a

nd 4

421-4

446 o

f th

e Cal

iforn

ia P

ublic

Res

ourc

es C

ode.

Reg

ula

tions

conce

rnin

g

stru

ctura

l-fire

pre

vention a

re found p

rim

arily

in

the

Cal

ifor

nia

Hea

lth a

nd S

afet

y Code,

most

ly

under

div

isio

n 2

, ch

apte

r 3,

and u

nder

div

isio

n 1

2,

par

t 2.

Part

8 o

f Title

24 is

found o

n t

he

web

site

of th

e Cal

iforn

ia B

uild

ing S

tandar

ds

Com

mis

sion (

BSC).

Pa

rts

2, 3, 4 a

nd 9

are

publis

hed

by

non-

gov

ernm

enta

l org

aniz

atio

ns

with s

ole

public

atio

n

and d

istr

ibution r

ights

, an

d a

re n

ot

yet

avai

lable

on t

he

Inte

rnet

; how

ever

, th

ey m

ay b

e ex

amin

ed

free

of ch

arge

at o

ne

of m

any

“dep

osi

tory

lib

raries

” th

roughout

the

stat

e (l

iste

d o

n t

he

BSC’s

w

ebsi

te).

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

59 | Fire Hazards

Cali

forn

ia E

nvir

on

men

tal

Qu

ali

ty A

ct (

CEQ

A)

Th

e st

ate’s

CE

QA

gui

delin

es

prop

ose

a w

ide

rang

e of

env

ironm

enta

l im

pact

s th

at p

ublic

age

ncies

sho

uld

cons

ider

in

their

eva

luat

ion

of d

evelo

pmen

t pr

opos

als.

Con

sider

atio

ns r

elate

d to

fire

haz

ards

in

clude

the

pote

ntial

for a

pro

ject t

o:

● ex

pose

peo

ple

or s

truct

ures

to

a sig

nific

ant

risk

of lo

ss, i

njur

y or

dea

th in

volv

ing

wild

land

fires

.

4.3

|

AN

ALY

SIS

Fir

e-f

igh

tin

g r

esp

on

se

As

men

tione

d ab

ove,

OFD

is

the

agen

cy w

ith p

rimar

y re

spon

sibili

ty

for

prev

entin

g an

d su

ppre

ssin

g fir

es

in

Oak

land.

OFD

em

ploy

s ap

prox

imat

ely

500

swor

n fu

ll-tim

e eq

uiva

lents

(F

TE’s)

an

d 70

civ

ilian

FT

E’s.

Co

mbi

ned

daily

sta

ffing

at

all t

he c

ity’s

fire

stat

ions

tot

als t

hree

bat

talio

n ch

iefs,

32

offic

ers,

25 f

ire e

ngin

eers

and

75

firef

ight

ers

over

thre

e da

ily s

hifts

. O

FD o

pera

tes

25

fire

stat

ions

thro

ugho

ut th

e cit

y, in

cludi

ng o

ne a

t Oak

land

Inte

rnat

iona

l Airp

ort a

nd a

fir

e st

atio

n in

the

Nor

th H

ills,

dedi

cate

d in

199

9 (s

ee F

igur

e 4.

1).

OFD

’s fle

et o

f eq

uipm

ent

inclu

des

25 t

ype-

1 en

gine

s, fo

ur t

ype-

3 en

gine

s, se

ven

aeria

l lad

ders

, eig

ht

brus

h pa

trols,

a fi

rebo

at, a

hea

vy-r

escu

e ve

hicle

, tw

o fo

am u

nits

, six

airp

ort r

escu

e rig

s, an

d fo

ur h

ose

tend

ers.

The

depa

rtmen

t rec

eives

in th

e ra

nge

of 5

0,00

0-70

,000

em

erge

ncy

and

non-

emer

genc

y ca

lls a

yea

r. O

f th

e em

erge

ncy

calls

, app

roxi

mat

ely t

hree

-four

ths

are

for

emer

genc

y m

edica

l se

rvice

s, w

ith t

he r

est

relat

ed t

o ut

ilitie

s, co

mm

ercia

l ala

rms,

stru

ctur

al fir

es

(mos

tly

resid

entia

l),

vehi

cle

and

“out

side”

fir

es,

gras

s/w

ild-la

nd

fires

an

d ot

her

emer

genc

ies.

In 2

002,

fire

s ca

used

thre

e co

nfirm

ed d

eath

s in

the

city

and

an e

stim

ated

$8

.75

mill

ion

in p

rope

rty d

amag

e. (I

n re

cent

yea

rs, o

n av

erag

e, th

ere

have

bee

n fiv

e fir

e-re

lated

fat

alitie

s an

nuall

y.)

Beca

use

fast

res

pons

e is

criti

cal i

n pr

even

ting

wid

espr

ead

dam

age

from

fire

s an

d ot

her

emer

genc

ies,

OFD

aim

s to

pro

vide

em

erge

ncy

serv

ice

with

in s

even

min

utes

of

notif

icatio

n 90

per

cent

of

the

time.

Gen

erall

y, se

rvice

can

be

prov

ided

in th

at ti

me-

fram

e to

are

as lo

cate

d w

ithin

1.5

mile

s of a

fire

stat

ion.

Fig

ure

4.1

show

s th

e 1.

5-m

ile r

espo

nse

radi

i fo

r O

aklan

d’s

25 f

ire s

tatio

ns;

as s

how

n, t

he v

ast

majo

rity

of th

e cit

y is

cove

red

by th

ese

resp

onse

rad

ii, w

ith th

e m

ain e

xcep

tions

bein

g

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 60

dist

ant c

orne

rs o

f th

e air

port

and

seap

ort,

the

Bay

Brid

ge a

ppro

ach,

and

an

area

in th

e So

uth

Hill

s be

twee

n Sk

yline

Bou

levar

d an

d K

eller

Ave

nue.

(A

sm

all a

rea

arou

nd S

an

Pabl

o A

venu

e an

d 66

th S

treet

is c

over

ed b

y an

Em

eryv

ille

fire

stat

ion—

not s

how

n—at

H

ollis

and

63r

d st

reet

s.)

The

open

ing

of t

he N

orth

Hill

s fir

e st

atio

n in

199

9 ha

s sig

nific

antly

impr

oved

the

depa

rtmen

t’s a

vera

ge re

spon

se ti

me

in a

n ar

ea o

f the

city

that

is

parti

cular

ly su

scep

tible

to w

ildfir

es.

Wate

r su

pp

ly

Oak

land

obta

ins m

ost o

f its

wat

er su

pply

from

the

Eas

t Bay

Mun

icipa

l U

tility

Dist

rict (

EBM

UD

). W

ater

flow

s in

to O

aklan

d pr

imar

ily th

roug

h th

e Cl

arem

ont

tunn

el fr

om th

e O

rinda

wat

er tr

eatm

ent p

lant,

then

thro

ugh

seve

ral a

qued

ucts

and

larg

e tra

nsm

issio

n m

ains

into

sm

aller

dist

ribut

ion

main

s su

pplyi

ng th

e en

tire

city;

at th

e sa

me

time,

wat

er is

stor

ed a

t var

ious

rese

rvoi

rs lo

cate

d th

roug

hout

the

city.

The

adeq

uacy

of w

ater

sup

ply

for f

irefig

htin

g pu

rpos

es is

judg

ed b

y th

e fir

e flo

w, o

r the

ra

te o

f wat

er fl

ow n

eede

d, w

hich

is m

easu

red

in g

allon

s pe

r min

ute

(gpm

). T

he d

esire

d fir

e flo

w in

an

area

dep

ends

on

the

area

’s lan

d us

e, de

gree

of

fire

haza

rd, e

xpos

ure

of

neig

hbor

ing

build

ings

, and

the

size,

cons

truct

ion

and

occu

panc

y of

bui

ldin

gs in

the

area

. W

ater

supp

ly sh

ould

not

be

conf

used

with

wat

er p

ress

ure,

whi

ch m

easu

res t

he st

rength

of

wat

er f

low

, in

poun

ds p

er s

quar

e in

ch (p

si).

To p

rovi

de m

ore

unifo

rm w

ater

pre

ssur

e re

gard

less

of e

levat

ion,

the

dist

ribut

ion

of w

ater

in

Oak

land

is di

vide

d in

to p

ress

ure

zone

s, ea

ch c

over

ing

a 20

0-fo

ot e

levat

ion

rang

e, ap

prox

imat

ely.

Wat

er p

ress

ure

in a

zo

ne ra

nges

from

app

roxi

mat

ely 4

0 po

unds

per

squ

are

inch

(psi)

at t

he to

p of

the

zone

to

130

psi

at th

e bo

ttom

of t

he z

one.

In o

rder

to m

ainta

in m

inim

um re

sidua

l pre

ssur

e in

th

e sy

stem

whi

le w

ater

is

flow

ing,

wat

er m

ains

mus

t be

ade

quat

ely s

ized

and

fire

hy

dran

ts m

ust b

e ad

equa

tely

spac

ed.

Mos

t wat

er tr

ansm

issio

n m

ains

in O

aklan

d ar

e at

lea

st 2

0” in

diam

eter

, with

a g

rid o

f sm

aller

dist

ribut

ion

main

s se

rvin

g in

divi

dual

bloc

ks

and

hydr

ants

. Th

ere

are

appr

oxim

ately

6,5

00 f

ire h

ydra

nts

in th

e cit

y, th

e di

strib

utio

n an

d sp

acin

g of

whi

ch a

re g

ener

ally

gove

rned

by

fire-

code

req

uire

men

ts.

With

a f

ew

exce

ptio

ns, f

ire h

ydra

nts i

n O

aklan

d ar

e ow

ned

and

main

tain

ed b

y E

BMU

D.

For t

he 1

991

Oak

land

Hill

s fir

e, fir

efig

hter

s us

ed w

ater

from

man

y re

serv

oirs

in s

ever

al pr

essu

re z

ones

. H

owev

er, t

he w

ater

sup

ply

from

sev

eral

rese

rvoi

rs b

ecam

e ex

haus

ted

afte

r se

vera

l ho

urs,

and

resp

ondi

ng f

ire u

nits

exp

erien

ced

diffi

culty

in

loca

ting

and

main

tain

ing

an a

dequ

ate

supp

ly of

wat

er.

Illu

stra

ting

the

com

poun

ding

effe

ct o

f di

sast

ers,

pow

er fa

ilure

s shu

t dow

n w

ater

-pum

ping

stat

ions

that

sup

plied

rese

rvoi

rs, a

nd

rese

rvoi

rs w

ere

furth

er d

rain

ed a

s w

ater

line

s at

hun

dred

s of

bur

ned-

out

hom

es b

urst

an

d po

ured

wat

er i

nto

the

stre

ets.

On

a se

para

te n

ote,

fire

com

pani

es f

rom

oth

er

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

61 | Fire Hazards

juris

dict

ions

exp

erien

ced

diff

iculty

con

nect

ing

to O

aklan

d hy

dran

ts, a

nd o

pera

tions

wer

e de

layed

as

adap

ters

wer

e di

strib

uted

. (A

t th

e tim

e, O

aklan

d hy

dran

ts h

ad t

hree

-inch

ou

tlets

whi

le m

ost

othe

r ju

risdi

ctio

ns u

se t

wo-

and-

a-ha

lf-in

ch c

onne

ctio

ns a

nd h

ose

coup

lings

.) E

BMU

D p

erio

dica

lly c

ondu

cts

hydr

ant-f

low

test

s in

the

city

to d

eter

min

e th

e av

ailab

le w

ater

flo

w a

nd p

ress

ure

in h

ydra

nts

and

wat

er m

ains.

Con

trary

to

misc

once

ptio

ns

arisi

ng f

rom

the

199

1 fir

e, w

ater

pre

ssur

e is

gene

rally

ade

quat

e th

roug

hout

the

city

. H

owev

er,

the

abili

ty t

o fe

ed w

ater

with

in c

erta

in z

ones

and

to

certa

in h

ydra

nts

is re

stric

ted

by o

lder

wat

er m

ains

that

are

not

siz

ed fo

r cur

rent

sta

ndar

ds o

r tha

t hav

e lo

st

capa

city

due

to d

eter

iora

tion.

In

add

ition

, opt

imal

“grid

ding

” of

wat

er m

ains

is no

t po

ssib

le in

the

Oak

land

Hill

s du

e to

the

area

’s to

pogr

aphy

and

stre

et la

yout

. M

oreo

ver,

enlar

ging

wat

er m

ains

to im

prov

e fir

eflo

ws

in lo

w-d

ensit

y ar

eas

(suc

h as

the

hills

) is

not

alway

s de

sirab

le sin

ce it

cou

ld le

ad to

poo

r wat

er tu

rnov

er a

nd a

resu

lting

det

erio

ratio

n in

wat

er q

ualit

y. Si

nce

the

1991

fire

stor

m,

the

city

and

EBM

UD

hav

e un

derta

ken

seve

ral

proj

ects

to

impr

ove

the

perf

orm

ance

of t

he w

ater

-dist

ribut

ion

syst

em fo

r pur

pose

s of f

ight

ing

fires

. Fo

r exa

mpl

e, O

aklan

d’s h

ydra

nts h

ave

been

retro

fitte

d w

ith u

nive

rsal

hose

cou

plin

gs (o

r re

plac

ed a

ltoge

ther

), an

d O

FD h

as d

evelo

ped

a po

rtabl

e w

ater

-deli

very

sys

tem

—co

nsist

ing

of la

rge-

diam

eter

hos

e, co

nnec

tions

and

pum

ps f

or d

rafti

ng w

ater

fro

m t

he

bay,

lakes

, cre

eks,

rese

rvoi

rs a

nd e

ven

stor

m-d

rain

sew

ers—

in t

he e

vent

of

failu

re o

f E

BMU

D’s

wat

er s

uppl

y. A

t the

sam

e tim

e, th

e cit

y an

d E

BMU

D h

ave

impr

oved

fire

flo

ws

in t

he R

ockr

idge

neig

hbor

hood

, a p

rojec

t fu

nded

th

roug

h a

spec

ial a

sses

smen

t di

stric

t of a

rea

hom

eow

ners

. S

tru

ctu

ral

fire

s

The

prim

ary

fact

ors

affe

ctin

g th

e ris

k of

stru

ctur

al fir

e ar

e th

e ag

e an

d co

nditi

on o

f th

e bu

ildin

g or

stru

ctur

e, its

pro

xim

ity t

o ot

her

stru

ctur

es, a

nd t

he

met

hods

and

mat

erial

s us

ed in

its

cons

truct

ion.

Gen

erall

y, ol

der b

uild

ings

are

at h

ighe

r ris

k be

caus

e th

ey w

ere

cons

truct

ed p

rior

to th

e ad

optio

n of

cur

rent

bui

ldin

g st

anda

rds;

with

the

few

exc

eptio

ns o

f bu

ildin

gs t

hat

have

bee

n ex

tens

ively

rem

odele

d re

cent

ly,

olde

r bu

ildin

gs d

o no

t m

eet

curr

ent

cons

truct

ion

code

s. H

ighe

r-de

nsity

dev

elopm

ent

pres

ents

an

incr

ease

d fir

e ris

k du

e to

the

grea

ter

inte

nsity

of

use

and

high

er c

hanc

e of

fir

e sp

read

ing

from

one

bui

ldin

g to

ano

ther

. Fi

nally

, par

ticul

arly

susc

eptib

le to

fire

are

w

ood-

fram

ed b

uild

ings

, esp

ecial

ly th

ose

with

woo

d-sh

ingl

e ro

ofs,

met

hods

and

mat

erial

s th

at a

pply

pred

omin

antly

to sm

all, d

etac

hed

singl

e-fa

mily

hom

es.

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 62

The

City

of O

aklan

d is

at h

ighe

r ris

k fo

r stru

ctur

al fir

e th

an m

ost o

ther

juris

dict

ions

in

Calif

orni

a be

caus

e of

its

relat

ively

old

and

den

se d

evelo

pmen

t pat

tern

. Th

e ge

ogra

phic

area

of

gr

eate

st

conc

ern

is do

wnt

own,

du

e to

its

hi

gh

land-

use

dens

ities

an

d co

ncen

tratio

n of

old

er, m

ulti-

stor

y bu

ildin

gs.

(Thi

s is,

of

cour

se, t

he a

rea

from

whi

ch

deve

lopm

ent

radi

ated

as

the

city

grew

.) B

ecau

se o

f its

hig

h de

nsity

, dow

ntow

n is

the

area

at g

reat

est r

isk o

f suf

ferin

g ha

rm fr

om s

truct

ural

fires

, in

term

s of

bot

h hu

man

life

an

d pr

oper

ty d

amag

e. O

n th

e ot

her

hand

, acc

essib

ility

by

fire-

fight

ing

equi

pmen

t is

exce

llent

, and

the

area

has

the

mos

t ext

ensiv

e fir

e-pr

otec

tion

cove

rage

, with

seve

n of

the

city’s

26

fire

stat

ions

loca

ted

with

in 1

.5 m

iles

of th

e co

rner

of 1

4th S

treet

and

Bro

adw

ay

(arg

uabl

y th

e cit

y’s d

evelo

pmen

t cen

ter).

Else

whe

re in

the

city,

ther

e is

gene

rally

eno

ugh

clear

ance

bet

wee

n bu

ildin

gs th

at st

ruct

ural

fires

can

usu

ally

be c

onta

ined

to th

e st

ruct

ure

of o

rigin

. Th

is is

espe

cially

true

in d

istric

ts o

f sin

gle-

fam

ily h

omes

. Tw

o bu

ildin

g-oc

cupa

ncy

type

s pr

esen

t sp

ecial

fire

haz

ards

: pub

lic-a

ssem

bly

build

ings

su

ch a

s sc

hool

s, st

adiu

ms

and

audi

toriu

ms

(bec

ause

of

the

conc

entra

tions

of

peop

le fo

und

at t

imes

in

such

bui

ldin

gs),

and

high

-rise

bui

ldin

gs.

Hig

h-ris

e bu

ildin

gs p

ose

parti

cular

acc

ess

and

evac

uatio

n ch

allen

ges:

mov

ing

firef

ight

ers

and

equi

pmen

t up

st

airw

ays

lengt

hens

resp

onse

tim

e, an

d ch

ance

s ar

e hi

gher

that

occ

upan

ts c

ould

bec

ome

trapp

ed.

Cur

rent

sta

tew

ide

fire-

safe

ty s

tand

ards

for

hig

h-ris

e st

ruct

ures

and

pub

lic-

asse

mbl

y bu

ildin

gs r

equi

re b

uilt-

in p

rote

ctio

n su

ch a

s au

tom

atic

smok

e-de

tect

ion,

fire

-de

tect

ion

and

fire-

extin

guish

ing

syst

ems;

fire-

resis

tive

met

hods

and

mat

erial

s; an

d in

tern

al-co

mm

unica

tion

syst

ems.

(W

ith c

erta

in e

xcep

tions

, st

anda

rds

for

high

-rise

s ap

ply

to b

uild

ings

con

stru

cted

afte

r Ju

ly 1,

197

4 “h

avin

g flo

ors

used

for

hum

an

occu

panc

y lo

cate

d m

ore

than

75

feet

abo

ve t

he l

owes

t flo

or l

evel

havi

ng b

uild

ing

acce

ss.”

) It

shou

ld b

e no

ted

that

supp

ress

ing

fires

in o

lder

hig

h-ris

e bu

ildin

gs, e

spec

ially

beca

use

they

lack

aut

omat

ic fir

e-pr

otec

tion

syst

ems,

coul

d pr

ove

diff

icult.

H

owev

er,

OFD

has

rece

ntly

expa

nded

its a

rsen

al of

fire

-figh

ting

equi

pmen

t for

hig

h-ris

e bu

ildin

gs

to in

clude

impr

oved

larg

e-di

amet

er-h

ose

nozz

les a

nd u

pdat

ed it

s tra

inin

gs a

nd d

rills.

Th

e cit

y ha

s in

plac

e a

num

ber

of s

trate

gies

to

prev

ent

stru

ctur

al fir

es.

OFD

’s Fi

re

Prev

entio

n Bu

reau

rev

iews

prop

osed

dev

elopm

ent

proj

ects

to

ensu

re t

hat

appr

opria

te

fire-

miti

gatio

n m

easu

res

are

take

n.

Proj

ects

are

rev

iewed

for

suc

h de

sign,

con

stru

ctio

n an

d op

erat

iona

l fea

ture

s as

ade

quat

e w

ater

sup

ply

and

acce

ss b

y fir

efig

htin

g eq

uipm

ent,

adeq

uate

em

erge

ncy

exits

, su

ffici

ent

clear

ance

be

twee

n st

ruct

ures

, th

e us

e of

no

ncom

bust

ible

mat

erial

s (e

spec

ially

for

roof

s an

d ex

terio

r w

alls)

, th

e pr

ovisi

on o

f sm

oke

dete

ctor

s an

d fir

e ex

tingu

isher

s, an

d co

mpl

iance

with

oth

er b

uild

ing

code

re

quire

men

ts.

The

Fire

Pre

vent

ion

Bure

au a

lso c

ondu

cts

regu

lar i

nspe

ctio

ns o

f

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

63 | Fire Hazards

com

mer

cial a

nd m

ulti-

dwell

ing

build

ings

and

res

iden

tial c

are

facil

ities

to

dete

rmin

e if

corr

ectiv

e m

easu

res

are

nece

ssar

y to

pro

tect

occ

upan

ts fr

om f

ire.

On

a di

ffer

ent n

ote,

OFD

has

in

the

last

seve

ral

year

s gi

ven

away

tho

usan

ds o

f sm

oke

dete

ctor

s an

d re

plac

emen

t bat

terie

s to

the

publ

ic th

roug

h its

“fir

e-sa

fe c

ity”

initi

ativ

e. St

ruct

ural

fires

hav

e alw

ays b

een,

and

will

alw

ays b

e, an

urb

an h

azar

d in

citi

es a

roun

d th

e w

orld

; Oak

land

is no

exc

eptio

n. H

owev

er, s

truct

ural

fires

are

relat

ively

eas

y to

con

tain

, ce

rtain

ly co

mpa

red

to

wild

fires

, an

d es

pecia

lly

give

n th

e cit

y’s

fire-

supp

ress

ing

capa

bilit

ies.

It

is un

usua

l fo

r a

stru

ctur

al fir

e to

spr

ead

to o

ther

tha

n im

med

iately

ad

jacen

t bu

ildin

gs,

and

it is

extre

mely

unl

ikely

tha

t a

stru

ctur

al fir

e co

uld

not

be

cont

ained

with

in th

e cit

y bl

ock

in w

hich

it o

rigin

ated

(exp

ect,

perh

aps,

follo

win

g a

majo

r ea

rthqu

ake)

. W

hile

stru

ctur

al fir

es c

ause

loca

lized

dam

age

in O

aklan

d alm

ost d

aily,

they

ar

e hi

ghly

unlik

ely to

resu

lt in

wid

espr

ead

dam

age—

again

, com

pare

d to

wild

fires

. A

t the

sa

me

time,

stric

ter

cons

truct

ion

code

s an

d ot

her

fire-

prev

entio

n st

rate

gies

hav

e, ov

er

time,

signi

fican

tly re

duce

d th

e ag

greg

ate

stru

ctur

al-fir

e ha

zard

. W

ild

lan

d f

ires

W

ildfir

es a

re th

e m

ost s

ever

e fir

e ha

zard

in O

aklan

d, e

spec

ially

in th

e hi

lls,

abov

e th

e W

arre

n Fr

eew

ay.

Bec

ause

the

Oak

land

hills

are

a f

ire-d

epen

dent

ec

osys

tem

, wild

fires

occ

ur th

ere

ever

y ye

ar, e

spec

ially

in la

te su

mm

er a

nd e

arly

fall

whe

n th

e ar

ea’s

natu

ral v

eget

atio

n is

dry

and

extre

mely

flam

mab

le.

Whi

le sm

all f

ires

occu

r ev

ery

year

, lar

ge f

ires

shou

ld b

e an

ticip

ated

eve

ry 1

0-20

yea

rs.

The

vege

tatio

n of

the

hi

lls ra

nges

from

den

sely

woo

ded

fore

sts

to o

pen

gras

sland

s, m

akin

g vi

rtuall

y th

e en

tire

area

vul

nera

ble

to fi

re; t

he w

oode

d ar

eas

pose

risk

s du

e to

the

supp

ly of

fuel

from

tree

s an

d th

e po

ssib

ility

of c

row

n, o

r tre

e-to

p, fi

res,

whi

le th

e gr

ass-

and

bru

sh-c

over

ed a

reas

ar

e hi

ghly

flam

mab

le. A

ddin

g to

the

fire

risk

are

the

area

’s st

eep

and

rugg

ed te

rrain

, and

th

e ab

unda

nce

of n

on-n

ativ

e ve

geta

tion,

esp

ecial

ly M

onte

rey

pine

and

euc

alypt

us, w

hich

ar

e no

t fire

-res

istan

t. M

ost o

f th

e w

ildfir

es in

the

hills

are

min

or, a

nd O

FD is

usu

ally

able

to c

ontro

l the

m e

asily

. N

ever

thele

ss, a

ggra

vatin

g cir

cum

stan

ces c

an tu

rn e

ven

small

fir

es in

to d

isast

rous

eve

nts

with

bre

atht

akin

g sp

eed.

In

the

cas

e of

the

199

1 fir

e, fo

r ex

ampl

e, th

e co

mbi

natio

n of

abu

ndan

t de

ad v

eget

atio

n, h

ot a

nd d

ry w

eath

er, s

trong

w

inds

and

, in

som

e ar

eas,

poor

acc

essib

ility

and

insu

fficie

nt w

ater

pre

ssur

e cr

eate

d an

un

cont

rolla

ble

fires

torm

in m

uch

less t

han

an h

our.

Mos

t of t

he s

ever

ity o

f Oak

land’

s w

ildfir

e ha

zard

ste

ms f

rom

the

pres

ence

of r

esid

entia

l ne

ighb

orho

ods

amid

st

the

large

ve

geta

ted

area

s—a

cond

ition

kn

own

as

the

“urb

an/w

ildlan

d in

terf

ace.”

Con

tribu

ting

to th

e ha

zard

are

the

man

y w

oode

n st

ruct

ures

in

the

area

and

, in

plac

es, t

he la

ck o

f ad

equa

te e

vacu

atio

n ro

utes

and

acc

ess

rout

es f

or

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 64

emer

genc

y ve

hicle

s. A

lso,

as s

how

n on

Fig

ure

3.1,

the

hill

s ar

e tra

vers

ed b

y th

e H

ayw

ard

faul

t; a

signi

fican

t fau

lt m

ovem

ent c

ould

res

ult i

n th

e br

eaka

ge o

f na

tura

l-gas

pi

pelin

es, s

ettin

g of

f are

a-w

ide

fires

, and

cou

ld a

lso b

lock

road

s an

d da

mag

e w

ater

line

s, de

layin

g O

FD’s

resp

onse

and

com

prom

ising

the

ir fir

e-su

ppre

ssin

g ab

ilitie

s. F

inall

y, im

med

iately

adj

acen

t to

the

city,

to th

e no

rthea

st, a

re la

rge

area

s of c

ombu

stib

le m

ater

ial

in t

he f

orm

of

open

spa

ces

in u

ninc

orpo

rate

d Co

ntra

Cos

ta C

ount

y (O

rinda

Can

yon,

pr

imar

ily)

and

of t

he d

ense

ly ve

geta

ted

park

lands

ow

ned

by E

BRPD

: Ch

arles

Lee

Ti

lden

, Red

woo

d an

d A

ntho

ny C

habo

t reg

iona

l par

ks; C

larem

ont C

anyo

n, R

ober

t Sib

ley

Vol

cani

c, H

uckl

eber

ry V

olca

nic

and

Leon

a H

eight

s O

pen

Spac

e re

gion

al pr

eser

ves;

and

Robe

rts R

egio

nal R

ecre

atio

n A

rea.

CD

F ha

s de

velo

ped

a ra

ting

of w

ildlan

d fir

e th

reat

fo

r th

e en

tire

stat

e ba

sed

on t

he c

ombi

natio

n of

pot

entia

l fire

beh

avio

r (d

eriv

ed f

rom

w

eath

er, t

erra

in a

nd v

eget

ativ

e-fu

el da

ta) a

nd e

xpec

ted

fire

freq

uenc

y (d

eriv

ed f

rom

50

year

s of

fire

-hist

ory

data

). U

nder

this

ratin

g sy

stem

, are

as a

re a

ssig

ned

one

of fo

ur fi

re-

thre

at r

atin

gs: m

oder

ate,

high

, ver

y hi

gh a

nd e

xtre

me.

Whi

le m

ost o

f O

aklan

d is

rate

d “m

oder

ate”

for

fire

thr

eat,

scat

tere

d pa

rts o

f th

e O

aklan

d H

ills

and

mos

t of

the

are

a ad

jacen

t to

the

city

to th

e no

rthea

st (m

entio

ned

in th

e pa

ragr

aph

abov

e) h

ave

ratin

gs o

f “h

igh”

or “

very

hig

h” (s

ee F

igur

e 4.

1).

Mor

eove

r, be

caus

e th

e CD

F ra

ting

does

not

take

in

to a

ccou

nt t

he p

rese

nce

of h

ouse

s an

d ot

her

flam

mab

le st

ruct

ures

, it

mos

t lik

ely

unde

rest

imat

es th

e fir

e th

reat

in O

aklan

d (a

nd o

ther

urb

an a

reas

). Fo

llow

ing

the

1991

fire

stor

m, t

he m

ayor

s of O

aklan

d an

d Be

rkele

y co

nven

ed a

serie

s of

mee

tings

of a

task

forc

e on

“em

erge

ncy

prep

ared

ness

and

com

mun

ity re

stor

atio

n.”

The

ta

sk f

orce

pro

duce

d a

list

of n

early

100

rec

omm

ende

d ac

tions

to

miti

gate

wild

fire

haza

rds,

cove

ring

four

bro

ad a

reas

: em

erge

ncy

prep

ared

ness

; com

mun

icatio

ns; f

ores

try

and

vege

tatio

n; a

nd p

lanni

ng, z

onin

g an

d de

sign.

The

city

Man

ager

’s of

fice

prep

ared

a

deta

iled

resp

onse

to

the

task

for

ce’s

repo

rt, d

escr

ibin

g th

e st

atus

or

analy

zing

the

fe

asib

ility

of e

ach

reco

mm

enda

tion.

Also

, the

task

forc

e’s re

port

beca

me

part

of a

plan

su

bmitt

ed b

y th

e cit

y—as

req

uire

d of

recip

ients

of f

eder

al di

sast

er a

id—

to F

EM

A (a

nd

also

to t

he C

alifo

rnia

OE

S) in

199

2.

The

plan

eva

luat

ed t

he n

atur

al ha

zard

s of

the

di

sast

er a

rea,

revi

ewed

pas

t m

itiga

tion

mea

sure

s an

d re

com

men

ded

miti

gatio

n ac

tions

fo

r the

futu

re.

The

plan

iden

tified

sev

eral

prio

rity

proj

ects

inclu

ding

impl

emen

tatio

n of

a

vege

tatio

n-m

anag

emen

t pr

ogra

m,

deve

lopm

ent

of a

por

tabl

e w

ater

-sup

ply

syste

m,

impl

emen

tatio

n of

a v

ariet

y of

fire

-saf

ety

impr

ovem

ents

at c

ritica

l city

-ow

ned

facil

ities

. In

res

pons

e to

the

1991

fire

stor

m, t

he c

ity e

nact

ed s

pecia

l dev

elopm

ent

requ

irem

ents

, de

scrib

ed e

arlie

r in

this

chap

ter,

for n

ew c

onst

ruct

ion

in th

e w

ildfir

e-ha

zard

are

as.

Also

, in

199

3, t

he c

ity e

stab

lishe

d a

fire-

prev

entio

n an

d su

ppre

ssio

n as

sess

men

t di

stric

t to

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

65 | Fire Hazards

fund

fue

l-red

uctio

n, v

eget

atio

n-m

anag

emen

t, fir

e su

ppre

ssio

n an

d pu

blic

educ

atio

n pr

ogra

ms

in t

he O

aklan

d H

ills.

The

ass

essm

ent

dist

rict

was

ter

min

ated

in

1997

. H

owev

er, m

indf

ul o

f the

con

tinue

d ha

zard

pre

sent

ed b

y w

ildfir

es, t

he c

ity c

ounc

il in

late

20

03 o

rgan

ized

a v

ote

amon

g O

aklan

d H

ills

dwell

ers

for

the

form

atio

n of

a n

ew

wild

fire-

prev

entio

n as

sess

men

t di

stric

t. T

he n

ew a

sses

smen

t di

stric

t w

as r

atifi

ed i

n Ja

nuar

y 20

04 a

fter

a m

ajorit

y of

Hill

s vo

ters

app

rove

d its

form

atio

n (s

ee F

igur

e 4.

1 fo

r th

e bo

unda

ries

of t

he n

ew d

istric

t).

The

new

ass

essm

ent

dist

rict

will

con

tinue

wor

k fu

nded

by

the

prev

ious

dist

rict,

payin

g fo

r fir

e-sa

fety

insp

ectio

ns o

f pr

ivat

e pr

oper

ties,

vege

tatio

n m

anag

emen

t, ro

ving

fire

fight

er p

atro

ls on

hig

h fir

e-ha

zard

day

s, pu

blic

educ

atio

n, g

oat g

razi

ng a

nd o

ther

serv

ices.

O

FD’s

vege

tatio

n-m

anag

emen

t pr

ogra

m r

equi

res

that

ow

ners

of

both

vac

ant

and

deve

lope

d lo

ts

in

the

area

co

mpl

y w

ith

fire-

haza

rd-a

bate

men

t re

quire

men

ts.

Requ

irem

ents

inclu

de th

e re

mov

al of

ove

rgro

wn

gras

s, br

ush

and

wee

ds; t

he re

mov

al of

lo

w-h

angi

ng t

ree

bran

ches

, an

d of

dea

d an

d dy

ing

vege

tatio

n; a

nd s

treet

-add

ress

nu

mbe

rs v

isibl

e fr

om th

e ro

ad.

Mos

t im

porta

ntly,

resid

ents

mus

t main

tain

fire

brea

ks—

a di

scon

tinui

ty o

f fir

e fu

els—

arou

nd b

uild

ings

, st

ruct

ures

, rig

ht-o

f-way

s an

d pr

oper

ty

lines

. (T

he p

urpo

ses

of a

fire

brea

k, o

r “d

efen

sible

spac

e,” a

re to

slo

w th

e ad

vanc

e of

fir

e, gi

ve s

truct

ures

an

oppo

rtuni

ty to

rem

ain u

ndam

aged

, and

pro

vide

a c

lear

path

for

fir

efig

htin

g pe

rson

nel.)

Pro

perti

es fo

und

to b

e ou

t of c

ompl

iance

with

the

requ

irem

ents

m

ay h

ave

a ta

x lie

n pl

aced

aga

inst

the

m.

By

1999

, O

FD h

ad c

ondu

cted

21,

000

vege

tatio

n-m

anag

emen

t ins

pect

ions

. D

espi

te th

e cit

y’s e

ffor

ts, c

ontin

ued

wor

k is

need

ed to

miti

gate

the

haza

rd fr

om w

ildfir

es

in th

e hi

lls.

Spec

ifica

lly, p

rogr

ess

still

nee

ds to

be

mad

e in

main

tain

ing

an e

ffect

ive

fire

brea

k alo

ng t

he u

rban

-wild

land

inte

rfac

e an

d de

fens

ible

spac

e ar

ound

res

iden

tial

stru

ctur

es, r

educ

ing

the

build

-up

of d

ead

vege

tatio

n, r

e-ve

geta

ting

the

area

with

nat

ive

plan

ts r

esist

ant

to f

ire a

nd d

roug

ht, e

duca

ting

area

res

iden

ts a

bout

wild

fire

miti

gatio

n,

and

prov

idin

g ad

equa

te e

vacu

atio

n ro

utes

and

pro

cedu

res

(see

belo

w).

At

the

sam

e tim

e, th

e re

build

ing

of h

omes

des

troye

d by

the

fire

mea

ns t

hat

the

num

ber

of p

eopl

e an

d ho

mes

in h

arm

’s w

ay is

roug

hly

the

sam

e as

it w

as b

efor

e th

e fir

e. R

oad

way st

an

dard

s an

d em

erg

en

cy ro

ute

s

Road

way

sta

ndar

ds—

for

such

cr

iteria

as

wid

th, g

rade

s, ov

erhe

ad c

leara

nce

and

turn

ing

radi

i—ar

e ne

cess

ary

to p

rovi

de

for

adeq

uate

acc

ess

by f

ire a

nd e

mer

genc

y ve

hicle

s an

d ev

acua

tion

of r

esid

ents

. A

s m

entio

ned

earli

er, c

hapt

er 1

6.16

of

the

Oak

land

mun

icipa

l cod

e (“

Des

ign

Stan

dard

s”)

esta

blish

es re

gulat

ions

relat

ed to

the

desig

n of

stre

ets,

inclu

ding

alig

nmen

t, w

idth

, gra

de,

inte

rsec

tion,

visi

bilit

y, cu

rvat

ure

radi

i and

tang

ents

; the

cha

pter

also

inclu

des

regu

latio

ns

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 66

relat

ed t

o th

e de

sign

of b

lock

s, lo

ts,

alley

s an

d pe

dest

rian

way

s; in

add

ition

, se

ctio

n 16

.24.

040

cont

ains

lot-d

esig

n st

anda

rds,

and

chap

ter

16.3

2 co

vers

des

ign

stan

dard

s fo

r pr

ivat

e-ac

cess

eas

emen

ts.

Sect

ion

16.2

8.04

0 re

quire

s th

at in

hill

side

subd

ivisi

ons,

the

dedi

cate

d w

idth

s of

all

stre

ets

(oth

er th

an a

rteria

l and

col

lecto

r st

reet

s) s

hall

be a

t lea

st

40 fe

et; a

nd th

at th

e pa

ved

road

way

wid

ths s

hall

be a

t lea

st 3

0 fe

et if

ther

e is

lot f

ront

age

on b

oth

sides

the

stre

et, o

r 24

feet

if th

ere

is lo

t fro

ntag

e on

one

sid

e of

the

stre

et o

nly.

Fi

nally

, sec

tion

17.1

02.3

60 s

tipul

ates

tha

t se

cond

ary

units

may

be

perm

itted

onl

y if

all

stre

ets

conn

ectin

g th

e lo

t to

the

near

est a

rteria

l stre

et h

ave

a m

inim

um p

avem

ent w

idth

of

at l

east

twen

ty fe

et.

Em

erge

ncy-

acce

ss a

nd e

vacu

atio

n ro

utes

are

a c

once

rn a

ssoc

iated

prim

arily

with

w

ildfir

es, s

ince

the

se t

end

to c

over

muc

h gr

eate

r ar

eas

than

stru

ctur

al fir

es.

Lim

ited

acce

ssib

ility

in th

e hi

lls c

ompl

icate

d em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

and

eva

cuat

ion

durin

g th

e 19

91

fire.

Man

y st

reet

s in

the

are

a ar

e na

rrow

, win

ding

or

indi

rect

. D

urin

g th

e fir

e, m

any

road

s in

the

imm

ediat

e an

d su

rrou

ndin

g ar

eas

beca

me

clogg

ed w

ith r

esid

ents

tryin

g to

ge

t ou

t as

em

erge

ncy

pers

onne

l w

ere

tryin

g to

get

in;

con

gest

ion

was

wor

sene

d by

“r

ubbe

rnec

kers

,” p

arke

d ca

rs,

vehi

cles

aban

done

d by

flee

ing

resid

ents

, fa

llen

pow

er

poles

and

hig

h-vo

ltage

line

s, an

d de

bris

falli

ng fr

om h

ighe

r ele

vatio

ns.

The

long

-rang

e pl

anni

ng e

fforts

fol

low

ing

the

1991

fire

res

ulte

d in

two

main

rec

omm

enda

tions

rela

ted

to e

mer

genc

y ac

cess

and

eva

cuat

ion:

to

set

and

enfo

rce

min

imum

uno

bstru

cted

stre

et

wid

ths (

to b

e im

plem

ente

d by

stre

et w

iden

ings

and

par

king

rest

rictio

ns, a

ccom

pani

ed b

y ne

w o

ff-s

treet

par

king

); an

d to

des

igna

te a

nd s

ign

evac

uatio

n an

d em

erge

ncy-

resp

onse

ro

utes

. N

eithe

r re

com

men

datio

n ha

s be

en i

mpl

emen

ted

to a

ny s

igni

fican

t ex

tent

—ot

her t

han

the

desig

natio

n of

eva

cuat

ion

rout

es—

and

resid

ents

in th

e hi

lls re

main

hig

hly

vuln

erab

le to

fut

ure

disa

ster

s. I

ngre

ss a

nd e

gres

s in

the

Oak

land

Hill

s co

uld

be

com

prom

ised

furth

er, a

nd s

ever

ely, i

f the

fire

is th

e re

sult

of a

stro

ng e

arth

quak

e (fr

om

rupt

ured

gas

main

s or

dow

ned

pow

er l

ines

), sin

ce s

uch

an e

arth

quak

e w

ould

lik

ely

dam

age

road

s, br

idge

s and

ove

rpas

ses.

It sh

ould

be

men

tione

d th

at o

ff-st

reet

walk

way

s pr

ovid

e im

porta

nt a

ltern

ate

rout

es f

or

emer

genc

y ev

acua

tion,

par

ticul

arly

in h

illy

area

s w

here

stre

et a

cces

s m

ay b

e lim

ited

or

indi

rect

. A

ccor

ding

to

the

city’s

ped

estri

an m

aste

r pl

an, t

here

are

app

roxi

mat

ely 2

00

walk

way

s in

the

city.

The

y ar

e m

ost c

omm

on in

old

er n

eighb

orho

ods

with

hill

y te

rrain

an

d lo

ng s

treet

blo

cks;

the

high

est

conc

entra

tions

of

walk

way

s ar

e fo

und

in t

he

neig

hbor

hood

s of U

pper

Roc

krid

ge, M

ontc

lair,

Tres

tle G

len, S

an A

nton

io, F

ruitv

ale a

nd

Eas

tmon

t, an

d alo

ng G

len E

cho

Cree

k. T

he p

edes

trian

mas

ter p

lan a

lso m

entio

ns th

at

ther

e ar

e at

leas

t 20

0 un

deve

lope

d rig

hts-

of-w

ay t

hat

are

pote

ntial

site

s fo

r ad

ditio

nal

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

67 | Fire Hazards

walk

way

s. A

mon

g th

e re

com

men

datio

ns e

mer

ging

afte

r th

e 19

91 f

ire w

ere

the

prov

ision

of

addi

tiona

l pa

thw

ays

and

the

prov

ision

and

main

tena

nce

of p

athw

ay

light

ing.

How

ever

, bot

h re

com

men

datio

ns re

main

larg

ely u

nim

plem

ente

d.

4.4

|

PO

LIC

Y S

TA

TEM

EN

TS

PO

LIC

Y F

I-1

M

ainta

in a

nd e

nhan

ce th

e cit

y’s c

apac

ity fo

r em

erge

ncy

resp

onse

, fir

e pr

even

tion

and

fire-

fight

ing.

● A

CTIO

N F

I-1.1

: Pe

riodic

ally

ass

ess

the

nee

d f

or

new

or

relo

cate

d f

ire

stat

ions

and

oth

er f

acili

ties

, ch

anges

in s

taffin

g l

evel

s, a

nd a

dditio

nal

or

update

d s

upplie

s,

equip

men

t, t

echnolo

gie

s an

d in-s

ervi

ce t

rain

ing c

lass

es.

OFD

TEC

HN

ICA

L S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N

FI-1

.2:

Str

ive

to

mee

t a

goal

of

resp

ondin

g

to

fire

s an

d

oth

er

emer

gen

cies

within

sev

en m

inute

s of notifica

tion 9

0 p

erce

nt

of th

e tim

e.

OFD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

● A

CTIO

N FI

-1.3

: Continue

to o

ffer

fire-

pre

vention a

nd f

ire-

safe

ty p

rese

nta

tions

and t

rain

ing t

o t

he

public

. O

FD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

O

FD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

OFD

OFFIC

E O

F E

ME

RG

EN

CY

SE

RV

ICE

S

● A

CTIO

N F

I-1.4

: Continue

to s

ponso

r th

e fo

rmat

ion a

nd t

rain

ing o

f CO

RE t

eam

s.

OFD

OFFIC

E O

F E

ME

RG

EN

CY

SE

RV

ICE

S

● A

CTIO

N

FI-1

.5:

Continue

to

par

tici

pat

e not

only

in

gen

eral

m

utu

al-a

id

agre

emen

ts b

ut

also

in a

gre

emen

ts w

ith a

djo

inin

g j

uri

sdic

tions

for

cooper

ative

re

sponse

to fir

es.

OFD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

● A

CTIO

N F

I-1.6

: Continue

to c

onduct

month

ly t

ests

of

the

aler

ting a

nd w

arnin

g

syst

em’s

outd

oor

sire

ns,

coord

inat

ing t

hem

to t

he

exte

nt

poss

ible

with t

hose

of

nei

ghbori

ng juri

sdic

tions.

CO

RE:

Citiz

ens

of O

akla

nd R

espond t

o Em

ergen

cies

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 68

OFD

OFFIC

E O

F E

ME

RG

EN

CY

SE

RV

ICE

S

● A

CTIO

N FI

-1.7

: Alo

ng w

ith th

e Eas

t Bay

M

unic

ipal

U

tilit

y D

istr

ict,

re

view

th

e ex

tent

to w

hic

h r

ecom

men

dat

ions

from

the

dis

tric

t’s

1994 i

nfr

astr

uct

ure

polic

y st

udy

on

nee

ded

im

pro

vem

ents

to

th

e w

ater

dis

trib

ution

syst

em

wer

e im

ple

men

ted.

OFD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

PO

LIC

Y F

I-2

Co

ntin

ue, e

nhan

ce o

r im

plem

ent

prog

ram

s th

at s

eek

to r

educ

e th

e ris

k of

stru

ctur

al fir

es.

● A

CTIO

N F

I-2.1

: Adopt

and a

men

d a

s nee

ded

update

d v

ersi

ons

of

the

Cal

iforn

ia

build

ing a

nd f

ire

codes

so t

hat

optim

al f

ire-

pro

tect

ion s

tandar

ds

are

use

d i

n

const

ruct

ion a

nd r

enova

tion

pro

ject

s.

CED

A B

UIL

DIN

G S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N FI

-2.2

: Continue

to en

forc

e pro

visi

ons

under

th

e lo

cal

housi

ng co

de

requir

ing th

e use

of

fire

-res

ista

nt

const

ruct

ion an

d th

e pro

visi

on of

smoke

det

ecto

rs a

nd fir

e-ex

tinguis

hin

g s

yste

ms.

C

ED

A B

UIL

DIN

G S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N F

I-2.3

: Continue

to r

evie

w d

evel

opm

ent

pro

posa

ls t

o en

sure

that

they

in

corp

ora

te

requir

ed

and

appro

pri

ate

fire

-mitig

atio

n

mea

sure

s,

incl

udin

g

adeq

uat

e pro

visi

ons

for

occ

upan

t ev

acuat

ion

and

acce

ss

by

fire

-fig

hting

per

sonnel

and e

quip

men

t.

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N F

I-2.4

: Com

pile

a l

ist

of

hig

h-r

ise

and h

igh-o

ccupan

cy b

uild

ings

whic

h

are

dee

med

due

to

thei

r age

or

const

ruct

ion

mat

eria

ls

to

be

part

icula

rly

susc

eptible

to f

ire

haz

ards,

and d

eter

min

e an e

xped

itio

us

tim

elin

e fo

r th

e fire

-sa

fety

insp

ection o

f al

l su

ch s

truct

ure

s.

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N

FI-2

.5:

Continue

to

conduct

per

iodic

fire

-saf

ety

insp

ections

of

com

mer

cial

, m

ulti-

fam

ily a

nd inst

itutional

build

ings.

O

FD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

CIT

Y O

F O

AKLA

ND

GEN

ERAL

PLAN

|

SA

FETY

ELEM

EN

T

69 | Fire Hazards

● A

CTIO

N F

I-2.6

: Enfo

rce

the

chap

ter

of

the

munic

ipal

code

regula

ting t

he

loca

tion

and d

esig

n o

f st

reet

-addre

ss n

um

ber

s on b

uild

ings.

C

ED

A B

UIL

DIN

G S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

PO

LIC

Y F

I-3

Pr

iorit

ize

the

redu

ctio

n of

the

wild

fire

haza

rd, w

ith a

n em

phas

is on

pre

vent

ion.

● A

CTIO

N

FI-3

.1:

Imple

men

t and

adm

inis

ter

the

2004

wild

fire

-pre

vention

as

sess

men

t dis

tric

t fo

r th

e O

akla

nd H

ills,

and c

arry

out

the

pro

gra

ms

funded

by

the

dis

tric

t, i

ncl

udin

g f

ire-

safe

ty i

nsp

ections

of

priva

te p

roper

ties

, ve

get

ation

m

anag

emen

t pra

ctic

es,

rovi

ng f

iref

ighte

r pat

rols

on h

igh f

ire-

haz

ard d

ays,

and

public

educt

ion e

ffort

s.

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

OFD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

P

WA

TR

AN

SP

OR

TA

TIO

N S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N

FI-3

.2:

Consi

sten

t w

ith

the

city

’s

ped

estr

ian

mas

ter

pla

n,

dev

elop

unuse

d p

edes

tria

n r

ights

-of-

way

in t

he

Oak

land H

ills

as w

alkw

ays

to s

erve

as

additio

nal

eva

cuat

ion r

oute

s, a

nd p

rovi

de

and m

ainta

in lig

hting f

acili

ties

for

new

an

d e

xist

ing w

alkw

ays.

P

WA

TR

AN

SP

OR

TA

TIO

N S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

PW

A E

NG

INE

ER

ING

DE

SIG

N D

IVIS

ION

P

WA

ELE

CTR

ICA

L S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N F

I-3.3

: Continue

to p

artici

pat

e in

multi-

juri

sdic

tional

pro

gra

ms

and t

ask

forc

es,

such

as

the

Hill

s Em

ergen

cy F

oru

m a

nd D

iablo

Fir

eSaf

e Counci

l, t

hat

w

ork

to r

educe

the

thre

at o

f w

ildfire

s.

OFD

SU

PP

OR

T S

ER

VIC

ES

DIV

ISIO

N

● A

CTIO

N F

I-3.4

: Alo

ng w

ith E

BM

UD

, re

view

the

exte

nt

to w

hic

h r

ecom

men

dat

ions

from

the

utilit

y’s

dis

tric

t’s

1993 s

tudy

on i

ts p

repar

atio

n a

nd r

esponse

to t

he

1991 fir

esto

rm w

ere

imple

men

ted.

OFD

FIE

LD

OP

ER

AT

ION

S D

IVIS

ION

PR

OTEC

T O

AK

LA

ND

Fire Hazards | 70

4.5

|

RES

OU

RC

ES

Ag

en

cies

con

sult

ed

Calif

orni

a D

epar

tmen

t of F

ores

try a

nd F

ire P

rote

ctio

n (w

ww

.fire.

ca.g

ov)

Off

ice o

f the

Sta

te F

ire M

arsh

al (o

sfm

.fire.

ca.g

ov)

Calif

orni

a Bu

ildin

g St

anda

rds C

omm

issio

n (w

ww

.bsc

.ca.g

ov)

Eas

t Bay

Mun

icipa

l Util

ity D

istric

t (w

ww

.ebm

ud.c

om

) ●

Eas

t Bay

Reg

iona

l Par

k D

istric

t Fire

Dep

artm

ent (

ww

w.e

bpark

s.org

/fire/

fire

wx.

htm

) ●

Oak

land

Fire

Dep

artm

ent (

ww

w.o

akl

andnet

.com

/oakw

eb/f

ire/

index

.htm

l)

● D

iablo

Fire

Safe

Cou

ncil

(ww

w.d

iablo

fire

safe

.org

) ●

The

Hill

s Em

erge

ncy

Foru

m (w

ww

.lbl.gov/

ehs/

hef

) D

ocu

men

ts c

on

sult

ed

“Fire

Haz

ard

Miti

gatio

n Pl

an f

or th

e Ci

ty o

f O

aklan

d—O

aklan

d H

ills

‘Tun

nel F

ire’

Disa

ster

Dec

larat

ion;

” O

aklan

d E

mer

genc

y Se

rvice

s Div

ision

, Apr

il 19

92.

● “E

ast B

ay H

ills F

irest

orm

Res

pons

e A

sses

smen

t, Ph

ase

I;” E

ast B

ay M

unici

pal U

tility

D

istric

t, Ja

nuar

y 19

92.

● “E

ast

Bay

Hill

s Fi

rest

orm

Res

pons

e A

sses

smen

t, Ph

ase

II;”

Eas

t Ba

y M

unici

pal

Util

ity D

istric

t, Ju

ly 19

92.

● “W

ater

Sup

ply

Refe

renc

e Co

urse

;” O

aklan

d Fi

re S

ervi

ces

Age

ncy,

revi

sed

Mar

ch

1997

. ●

“Res

ourc

e M

anag

emen

t Pl

an f

or t

he C

aldec

ott

Wild

life

Corr

idor

; Alam

eda-

Cont

ra

Cost

a Bi

odiv

ersit

y W

orki

ng G

roup

;” C

aldec

ott

Corr

idor

Com

mitt

ee,

Sept

embe

r 20

01.

● “T

he T

unne

l In

ciden

t, O

aklan

d 19

91—

Ten

Yea

rs A

fter;”

The

Hill

s E

mer

genc

y Fo

rum

, Oct

ober

200

1 (h

ttp:/

/ww

w.lbl.gov/

ehs/

hef

/10yr

sAft

er.p

df)

. ●

“Ann

ual R

epor

t 200

0;”

Oak

land

Fire

Dep

artm

ent,

unda

ted.

“The

Oak

land

Hill

s Fi

re S

torm

: Afte

r-Act

ion

Repo

rt;”

Oak

land

Offi

ce o

f th

e cit

y M

anag

er, E

mer

genc

y Se

rvice

s Div

ision

, und

ated

. O

ther

reso

urc

es

● O

aklan

d W

ildfir

e Pr

even

tion

Ass

essm

ent D

istric

t (w

ww

.oakl

andnet

.com

/gove

rnm

ent/

cmo/w

ildfire

pre

vention.h

tm)

● “T

he O

aklan

d/Be

rkele

y H

ills F

ire”

(ww

w.f

irew

ise.

org

/pubs/

theO

akl

andBer

kele

yHill

sFir

e)

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