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Berkeley Fire Marshal David Orth has classified the Drayage building as an “extremely hazardous situation,” even though he knows of no fire incidents or injuries in the past 20 years connected to the residents living in this “situation.” Mr. Orth brushes off this strong history as “lucky.” 

If the fire marshal classifies a building as “extremely hazardous,” I can see 30 people living there without incident for perhaps three months, or maybe a year if they are really lucky. Three years of stability, and luck is an unlikely explanation. Five years, and luck has nothing to do with it. Ten years, the building is not in an “extremely hazardous situation.” Twenty years residency, surviving the Loma Prieta earthquake undamaged, renders Mr. Orth’s classification as clearly inaccurate. 

He says his main worry is for the residents sleeping in the building at night. Did he take into account that every room has a fire extinguisher and many residents have bought their own smoke detectors? There is a smoke detector in the hallway. Why doesn’t he just have the landlord, Laurence White, make sure there are smoke detectors in all the rooms? In addition, a Drayage resident has completed the fire department’s own CERT program, and continues to be an active CERT member for the community. 

We are adult, intelligent people living here, Mr. Orth. Yes, we choose to lead an artistic life, pursuing knowledge and creativity, and not just wealth. The building is a little funky with murals and collages (pictures http://homepage.mac.com/vincemazzi/). I am sorry if our lifestyle scares you, Mr. Orth. Maybe you have your own deep artistic yearning suppressed. 

Possibly, Mr. Orth just made a rash judgment that lead to his mistaken classification. I am sure he is a busy man in a stressful job. We all make some mistakes. Fine. Let’s fix it. If uncorrected, this mistake will cause severe disruption to the lives of 30 residents of Berkeley, in addition to disrupting the places where they work: the library, Fourth Street shops, and the school, among others, and Berkeley will lose one of its last live/work artistic communities. 

I really think Mr. Orth just made a rushed judgment that resulted in his mistake (although I am not entirely sure he can see his own bias, how many of us can?) In any event, if it is not a mistake, then it can only be one of the following explanations: 

The building is in the process of changing ownership and the new owners want to eject the current tenants, tear the building down, put up condos, and make more millions. Mr. Orth is helping this along. Smells of corruption? 

Another possible explanation: Mr. Orth has made an unsound decision. Can we have someone at Mr. Orth’s level, directly affecting people’s, lives with the inability to make sound decisions? (His power to impose decisions is above the City Council and even the mayor, according to the city attorney.) 

The building inspector, Joan MacQuarrie, cites the stairways as not being quite up to code (the rails need to be the proper number of inches) as an additional reason the residents need to be “evicted immediately.” Twenty years going up and down those stairs, daily, without incident, and she chooses to say that she needs to evict everybody (even apartments without stairs) because the residents are in imminent danger? Joan seems to me to be a genuinely caring official that was just strong-armed by Mr. Orth into backing him up on his rash decision. 

The fire marshal and the building official inspected my apartment and cited three code violations as the reason why I am in “imminent danger” and must leave in 15 days. The code violations cited are: 

1. Electrical extension cords are improperly used. BMC 19.30.010 (I have a computer hooked up to a power strip. What space in Berkeley does not have this violation?) 

2. Electrical breakers lack ready access. BMC 19.30.010 (My breakers are 30 feet down the hall in the electrical room, my breakers have never tripped while I have been living here.) 

3. Plumbing work performed without inspection and permit. BMC 19.28.080 (I have performed no plumbing work. Whenever the sink was put in, 

possibly 20 years ago, the landlords should have filed a permit. Maybe they did, I do not know for sure. Nonetheless, the sink works fine.) 

Do any of these violations warrant an “extreme hazard” classification? Is Mr. Orth concerned about my safety, or does he just want all 30 of us to leave Berkeley, and our unique, low-income, artist building torn down? 

What if the fire marshal came to your house, do you think he would find any code violations? How would you feel if you came home one day to a posted sign on your front door ordering you to be out of your house in 15 days? This is our current reality (nightmare)! I am “lucky.” I can go stay with some relatives 2.5 hours away and take a leave from my work, but there are others in the building who won’t be able to find a place, can’t come up with a security deposit and will have to live on the street. 

Mr. Orth uses his “extreme hazard” classification to justify taking the draconian measure to put 30 people out of their homes, “for their own good.” He says, “I am taking a hard line much like the bad cop, in a good-cop-bad-cop situation like is seen on TV.” Mr. Orth this is not TV; we are real people you are putting on the street. If this is his final stance, I strongly suggest Mr. Orth take his “compassionate conservatism” somewhere where it is appreciated, and fire marshal any number of beautiful towns, in South Carolina for instance, and allow Berkeley to remain a place for truly caring and progressive people to live and work. 

I realize this is a bit of a rant, but not unwarranted due to the aggressiveness associated with the decision to kick 30 people out of their homes. I do have to commend Michael Caplan and the vast majority of the city staff for their compassionate tone. Thank you. 

Vince Mazzi is a Drayage building resident.