SF failed to conduct fire inspections at dozens of schools, audit finds

State of play: At least 26 schools weren't even on the bureau's radar despite operating for years — some as early as 2004 — because it relied on an incomplete list of schools, per the city controller's audit report.

• The bureau, an agency under the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD), missed inspections for 95 schools in the 2017-18 fiscal year alone. That's over one-third of the annual school inspections it was required to complete.
• Campuses that were skipped include OnePurpose in the Bayview, Nomad in the Mission, the North Beach Fusion Academy and the San Francisco Expeditionary School in Pacific Heights, the San Francisco Standard reports.
• The audit, which did not provide data through 2024, also found that scheduled inspection dates were sometimes deleted from the bureau's database, contributing to delays and missed inspections.

What they're saying: "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," the audit states.

• The lapses demonstrate that "the Bureau cannot solely rely on school administrators or permitting and referral processes to report school openings to the Fire Department," the audit adds. "Of course, the Bureau cannot inspect schools if it is unaware they exist."

The other side: The fire marshal's office conducted its own investigation and told Axios via email that a majority of the schools on the list are now closed.

• "The real number is three ... schools that were not being inspected and this has been corrected," fire marshal Ken Cofflin wrote. They will undergo annual inspections next week, according to Cofflin.
• The audit report also included a response from SFFD, which agreed with the issued recommendations and noted that an assistant fire marshal is now assigned to confirm the school list and ensure completion of inspections.
• The San Francisco Unified School District declined to comment.

Zoom out: Several school sites have had fires in recent years, including Balboa High School, Sterne School and Willie Brown Middle School.

Of note: The audit also found that the bureau missed inspections for 689 businesses in the same year it failed to inspect 95 schools, and that 44% of inspectors said they feared retaliation for reporting unethical behavior.