The City Council’s Public Safety Committee took steps Tuesday to improve interdepartmental cooperation in addressing the issue of hoarding.
The agreement approval by the committee would improve coordination between the Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, and Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department in inspecting buildings and homes for excessive hoarding that would pose a threat to public safety.
“The policy on excessive accumulation, and the collaborative work by the various departments to ensure its implementation, is helping to keep Angelenos safer,” Councilman Mitch O’Farrell said. “This multi-jurisdictional agreement ensures the reporting of dwellings with excessive fuel sources so that we can better protect the individuals in need, neighbors, and the first responders when they arrive at the scene of a fire. The city can now act much more carefully and efficiently with this cooperation agreement.”
The motion, which was introduced by O’Farrell, said hoarding is a medical disorder and the homes of hoarders “can become packed with acquired belongings, often including hazardous materials, combustible items, as well as unsafe electrical wiring, deteriorated structural elements, and vermin. Everyday living is compromised, and rooms can be so full of items that they can no longer be used for their designed purposes. These conditions pose a significant threat to the safety and wellbeing of the occupants, their neighbors, and first responders who often must respond to emergency situations brought on by those afflicted with this disorder.”
The motion also said a fire at the home of a hoarder in Atwater Village in December 2013, and another one at the same residence 13 months later, “exposed significant deficiencies in dealing with this particular location and has provided an opportunity to improve attention to issues involving hoarding cases from a mental health, public safety, and enforcement perspective.”
O’Farrell’s office said the motion updates the protocols for LAFD, LADBS and Housing inspectors, ensures staffing and creates better clarity for the permit, inspection, compliance and regulatory schemes for all residents of the city.
–City News Service