Hazmat coverage

I wasn’t sure I had a story, but I was confused enough to begin asking questions.

What followed were more than 15 articles on mandatory hazardous material inspections that were skipped over a span of five years, and more than $1.7 million in refunds that the county’s largest fire agency would have to issue to local businesses.

The Orange County Fire Authority’s Fire Marshal was suspended and later placed on leave. A few months later she suddenly retired as pressure increased on administrators.

Now elected officials are demanding reform and the Fire Chief is developing a plan to change Orange County’s largest fire agency.

Here are my articles on the topic going back to 2012, and how the coverage of the topic developed.

It’s going to be more money

Turns out the $360,000 (or so) of refunds the Orange County Fire Authority was to disburse to local businesses – after finding it didn’t do hundreds of inspections it billed for – is going to be a lot more.

Five times more.

An audit of the agency’s hazardous material inspection program showed the problem actually extended several years back. After reviewing records going back to 2005, officials found they could not find evidence for hundreds of inspections that were billed, meaning they would have to issue about $1.7 million in refunds to hundreds of businesses.

It also suggests problems with fee-based programs in Orange County’s largest fire department could be more serious than officials had officially let on.

I first reported on the missed inspections in Sept. 2012, when officials first considered about $360,000 in refunds. The following February – after the completion of an internal review – I wrote about the Fire Marshal’s suspension, here.

It’s an issue that has required persistent attention.