The Los Angeles Fire Department is replacing the official in charge of enforcing fire safety codes for apartment houses, schools, hospitals and other high-occupancy buildings after months of turmoil over lengthy backlogs in inspections, it was reported this morning.
Fire Marshal John Vidovich leaves one of the LAFD’s top jobs barely two years into his tenure following embarrassing disclosures about delinquent inspections and mounting criticism from the firefighters’ labor union, the Los Angeles Times reported. He pledged last year to reform the agency’s Fire Prevention Bureau after a Times investigation found that about 6,800 buildings were months or even years overdue for an inspection.
Several senior inspectors later told The Times that, under Vidovich, the bureau put the public at risk by requiring them to cut corners on safety reviews in a frantic drive to clear the backlog.
Fire Chief Ralph M. Terrazas said in a staff memo that Vidovich will step down next month and be assigned to the mayor’s office in an advisory position focused on new construction. A fire department spokesman told The Times Vidovich intends to retire in May.
The union that represents inspectors and other firefighters voted earlier this year to approve a resolution of “no confidence” in Vidovich. Before the fire department decided to replace Vidovich, the union was preparing to pressure Mayor Eric Garcetti and other elected officials to oust him, according to The Times.
