The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) didn’t make more than half its 2011-12 scheduled inspections of businesses handling hazardous materials, but $360,000 for inspection fees was billed and apparently collected anyway.

The authority’s 25-person board was scheduled to consider at its meeting this week a staff recommendation that all 1,460 businesses be reimbursed. It’s not known if inspections were also billed for but not performed in previous years. The Southern California fire agency was supposed to conduct 2,400 inspections during the fiscal year.

OCFA Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion told the Orange County Register that an audit turned up the problem after it was triggered by an anonymous call to a fraud hotline in February. But the newspaper said that it saw an email which indicated the authority knew about the inspection lapse last year but didn’t act until the tip in February.

OCFA is the administering agency for the Hazardous Materials Disclosure Program,  which includes a chemical inventory and business emergency plan regulations for unincorporated areas and a couple dozen cities in the county. Inspection fees are collected by the state but come back later to the county agency as revenue. Failure to properly conduct inspections raises issues of administrative competence and safety.

A spokesperson for the Orange County Employees Association said employees had expressed concern about the inspections three years ago, and on Wednesday the association reportedly sent a letter to board President Trish Kelley which states, “OCFA leadership has been aware of these issues and has knowingly permitted this practice of providing misleading information to the state and county to continue.” 

–Ken Broder

To Learn More:  

Fire Agency: Half of Hazmat Inspections Weren't Done (by Salvador Hernandez, Orange County Register)

September 27, 2012 Agenda (Orange County Fire Authority board) (pdf)