D.C.’s police chief issued an executive order Tuesday that establishes new protocols for reporting and responding to potential fire code violations.
Chief Peter Newsham issued the order in response to a deadly fire at a row house in Northwest D.C. last month, which claimed the lives of a man and a 9-year-old boy.
The executive order stipulates that any officer who observes a potential fire code violation — described as “conditions that appear to present a serious hazard or possible life-safety threat” — must notify a supervisor.
The supervisor, in turn, must respond to the scene. They must then notify the D.C. Fire and EMS Fire Liaison Officer (FLO) of the location and potential threat.
Officers that observe potential code violations must also send an email to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, copying D.C. police’s Command Information Center, before the end of their shift. The email must include the location’s address and an explanation of the alleged violation.
They are required to complete the appropriate field reports.
Chief @DCPoliceDept issues Executive Order in response to deadly fire at illegal rooming house. Until new procedures are written, Now if an officer observes a serious code violation a supervisor will go to screen and notify 911 call center. pic.twitter.com/cKUbjIsYmW
— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) September 5, 2019
The row house on Kennedy Street where the fatal fire occurred was “not licensed as a residential rental property” and had been illegally subdivided into tiny apartments. When firefighters tried to fight the blaze, they encountered steel bars on the doors and windows, narrow hallways and broken smoke detectors.
During an investigation into the fire, it was revealed that the city was alerted to the hazardous conditions at the row house five months before the fire broke out.
A police officer reported the conditions to D.C. Fire and EMS and DCRA, which attempted to visit the home on three different occasions but no one was home.
After the third visit, the inspector left a card and closed the case.
The new executive order for reporting potential fire code violations is effective immediately.
