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A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016.
A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016.
Spring Branch fire
Spring Branch fire
Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle, Newsletter
Amegy Bank at 2000 Spring Cypress Road sits open for business Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 in Spring. The bank closed last year after a fire damaged the branch.
Amegy Bank at 2000 Spring Cypress Road sits open for business Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 in Spring. The bank closed last year after a fire damaged the branch.
Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle
Members of the Houston Fire Department. battle a four alarm fire at the Custom Packaging and Filling Company in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch, according to the Houston Fire Department.
Members of the Houston Fire Department. battle a four alarm fire at the Custom Packaging and Filling Company in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch, according to the Houston Fire
Photo: Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association
Photo: Gary Coronado, Staff
Firefighters continue to battle a fire north of Long Point Road in Spring Branch, Thursday, May 5, 2016, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle )
Firefighters continue to battle a fire north of Long Point Road in Spring Branch, Thursday, May 5, 2016, in Houston. ( Mark Mulligan / Houston Chronicle )
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff
Photo: Gary Coronado, Staff
Four hundred firefighters responded to the Spring Branch warehouse over two days and didn’t know what chemicals were on site.
Four hundred firefighters responded to the Spring Branch warehouse over two days and didn’t know what chemicals were on site.
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff
SILVER SPRING, MD – AUGUST 16: Residents of the Flower Branch Apartments walk past the section of the complex that exploded and burned last week as investigators continue to comb through the rubble, searching for one last victim August 16, 2016 in Silver Spring, Maryland. Six people ranging in age from 3 to 66 years old are confirmed dead and 30 people were injured when the four-story building exploded last Wednesday night. Investigators have not named a cause for the blast and fire but some residents reported smelling gas before the explosion. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
SILVER SPRING, MD – AUGUST 16: Residents of the Flower Branch Apartments walk past the section of the complex that exploded and burned last week as investigators continue to comb through the rubble, searching
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
A four-alarm fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling at 8960 Spring Branch Dr. in Houston on May 5. The fire, which allegedly began at this home on Laverne, caused the entire facility to be a complete loss.
A four-alarm fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling at 8960 Spring Branch Dr. in Houston on May 5. The fire, which allegedly began at this home on Laverne, caused the entire facility to be a complete loss.
Photo: Craig Moseley
Dead fish float in Spring Branch Creek as a crew cleans up Friday after a fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling Company, which served industrial customers and handled various hazardous substances.
Dead fish float in Spring Branch Creek as a crew cleans up Friday after a fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling Company, which served industrial customers and handled various hazardous substances.
Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Staff
More than 170 firefighters helped contain a fire at Custom Packaging and Filling Company near Spring Branch. No injuries were reported.
More than 170 firefighters helped contain a fire at Custom Packaging and Filling Company near Spring Branch. No injuries were reported.
Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff
Lelina Cantero was among 650 students evacuated from Spring Branch Elementary School to Don Coleman Coliseum, where her mother picked her up.
Lelina Cantero was among 650 students evacuated from Spring Branch Elementary School to Don Coleman Coliseum, where her mother picked her up.
Photo: Karen Warren, Staff
Runoff from the firefighting sent vivid red streams
of chemical additives into Spring Branch Creek.
Runoff from the firefighting sent vivid red streams
of chemical additives into Spring Branch Creek.
Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff
Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle
Dead fish float alongside chemicals in Spring Branch Creek Friday, May 6, 2016 near Westview Drive after a four-alarm fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling Company yesterday.
Dead fish float alongside chemicals in Spring Branch Creek Friday, May 6, 2016 near Westview Drive after a four-alarm fire destroyed Custom Packaging and Filling Company yesterday.
Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle
Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle
Area ditches and Spring Branch Creek were turned red with a fuel additive and pesticides which HFD Hazmat says dissolve immediately when it hits water. Residents are being advised to stay away from the area.
Area ditches and Spring Branch Creek were turned red with a fuel additive and pesticides which HFD Hazmat says dissolve immediately when it hits water. Residents are being advised to stay away from the area.
Photo: David Taylor
A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016.
A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016.
A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016, as seen from the Texas Medical Center.
A 4-alarm fire broke out about 10:50 a.m. in the 1700 block of Laverne near Spring Branch Drive in Spring Branch on May 5, 2016, as seen from the Texas Medical Center.
The branch of the Houston Fire Department responsible for ensuring building safety keeps inadequate records, does not examine buildings on a regular schedule and inflated its inspection numbers, all while blowing past its overtime budget, according to an audit released by the city controller’s office Thursday.
The fiscal 2015 – 2016 audit is the latest in a series of blistering critiques of the Life Safety Bureau and casts doubt on whether the city is complying with its fire code.
Many of the 28 high-risk problems — from an incomplete inspection database to poor job training — were identified by the controller’s office more than a decade ago.
“It’s not a matter of if, it’s when, unfortunately, something happens,” City Controller Chris Brown said. “We need to make sure that we don’t let this one go another 12 years without any action.”
Among the latest audit findings:
- Just 263 of Houston’s more than 5,000 apartment buildings were inspected in the last two years, well below the bureau’s goal of 470 apartment inspections per month.
- There is no evidence the city inspected Bush Intercontinental, Hobby or Ellington airports within the last two years.
- Inspectors provided hotel, motel, high-rise and apartment building owners with self-inspection checklists rather than conducting inspections themselves.
- The city does not require the Life Safety Bureau to inspect buildings before issuing certificates of occupancy, except in the case of hazmat facilities.
- The “inadequate” — and at times “non-existent” — recordkeeping system consists of storing inspection reports in the city’s database, file cabinets and inspectors’ desk drawers.
- The Life Safety Bureau spent $5.6 million on firefighter overtime in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, $2.4 million over budget.
Story continues below the report…
Fire Chief Samuel Peña, appointed last year, was not immediately available for comment, but the department pledged a series of reforms in response to the audit. They include working with a consultant to develop a risk-based inspection program and establish a regular inspection cycle; improving the bureau’s database; requiring inspectors to log daily activities; and conducting a staffing analysis.
The controller’s audit, which a Life Safety Bureau chief requested, comes at a time of frayed relations between the city and its fire department.
The fire union hit an impasse last month in its efforts to negotiate a new contract with higher pay, and the fire pension board has sued the city alleging the pension reform plan signed into law last month violates the Texas Constitution.
The Life Safety Bureau, part of the Fire Marshal’s Office, has been plagued for decades by shoddy record keeping, poor training and questionable inspection practices, audits and departmental records show.
CHEMICAL BREAKDOWN: Uncover Houston’s hidden world of explosions and toxic releases
That record came under intense scrutiny last year after a Spring Branch warehouse storing more than 40,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals burned down, eight years after the fire department last inspected it.
Mayor Sylvester Turner responded by calling for the city to more regularly inspect buildings, including those that store hazardous materials.
The bureau previously did not have an inspection schedule for facilities that store hazardous materials, according to the audit, and fire department inspectors called the Chronicle in the aftermath of the Spring Branch fire, asking for the newspaper’s map of potentially harmful hazmat facilities.
The hazmat team now is in the process of identifying all of the buildings under their purview, with the goal of establishing an inspection schedule, the audit said.
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