Fire board member in trouble again Fire board member in trouble again (August 13, 2003)

** Chaotic backyard seen as fire hazard.

By David Boyce
Almanac Staff Writer

A cobbler's children, it is said, go without shoes. So it is ironic that a board member of a local agency charged with preventing and putting out fires is himself the subject of a complaint that he's allowed a fire hazard to develop in his own backyard.

A letter and photographs sent to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District from the manager of the apartment of Steve Kennedy, a member of the district's board, describe a chaotic collection of paper, books, and overflowing cardboard boxes on and around Mr. Kennedy's backyard patio at his Euclid Avenue apartment in East Palo Alto.

The five-member fire board has two open seats in the upcoming election and five contenders, including Mr. Kennedy, who is running for re-election as an incumbent. The board sets policy for Menlo Park, Atherton, East Palo Alto and nearby unincorporated areas.

Controversy has swirled around Mr. Kennedy during his four years on the fire board, his first public office. His fellow board members have twice censured him and once asked him to resign.

"I believe Mr. Kennedy's rental unit poses a serious fire and health threat to tenants of this building and the surrounding buildings," said apartment manager Michael Rogan in the letter to Fire Marshal Geoffrey Aus. The letter is undated but mentions a three-day notice "to clean up" given to Mr. Kennedy on July 31.

The letter requested a visit by fire district officials "out of frustration with all other attempts." Mr. Rogan said he had warned Mr. Kennedy repeatedly over several years to clean up the area. Mr. Kennedy would typically respond by doing some straightening up, but usually only after being threatened with eviction, Mr. Rogan said. The patio would return to its former condition in "a week or two," he said.

Mr. Aus and a firefighter visited the apartment on Tuesday, August 5. In his report, Mr. Aus stated that, in his opinion, a fire hazard exists. "The type of and amount of storage observed would be classified as a fire hazard under both the California Code of Regulations Title 19 and the California Fire Code," the report said.

Mr. Kennedy could not be reached for comment by press time despite repeated calls and paging requests.

Whether the site is officially declared a fire hazard, and thus subject to formal inspection by a fire department, remains to be seen, Menlo Park Fire Chief Paul Wilson told the Almanac. Other than paper, there are no obviously highly flammable materials in sight, he said.

"Some people have a desire to keep everything, and that appears to be what's happened here," Chief Wilson said.

The code-enforcement unit of the East Palo Alto Police Department will determine whether an official fire inspection is necessary, Chief Wilson said. Overgrown weeds are the most common reason for such inspections in this region, he added.

Treading lightly

Since Mr. Kennedy is on the Menlo Park fire board, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, any inspection would be done by a neighboring fire protection district, most likely Redwood City, Mr. Wilson said.

"I'm respectful of all the board members as elected officials," Chief Wilson said. "We want to be fair to all the parties involved here."

Mr. Kennedy has been the subject of many accusations by fellow board members, including misusing his position on the board to monopolize a fire station television, swearing at a fire station official in an e-mail message, threatening to give the fire chief a poor performance evaluation and disclosing information from a board meeting closed to the public.

Mr. Kennedy has also been an unsuccessful champion of causes such as restricting the use of wood shingles and sending a surplus fire truck to Afghanistan.