“I was furious”: Neighbors say emergency crews ignore homeless fires over legality confusion
By Marlee Ginter
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SACRAMENTO, California (KOVR) — A singed sidewalk, blackened tree trunk and all the other burned leftovers in Sacramento’s Alkali Flat neighborhood have Francine Jackson worried and fired up.
“It is very dangerous, of course. And I mean, I live in a wooden house,” she said.
When she saw the flames across the street, she called 911. But when firefighters arrived, she never expected them to do what they did.
“They didn’t stop. They didn’t get out of their vehicle. They just drove around the corner and they were gone,” Jackson said. “Oh, I was furious at that point.”
That’s when Jackson said two police officers showed up telling her the sidewalk fire was perfectly legal and to take it up with the city council if she had a problem. So she did, attending the very next city council meeting Tuesday night.
“It is not legal to have a fire on the sidewalk and whoever told you that,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in the meeting. Jackson told him she heard that from several police officers. “Well that needs to be corrected,” Steinberg said.
“If the people tasked with upholding the law are saying there’s nothing we can do about it, then what are we as citizens supposed to do to protect our property?” said Ian McWherter.
McWherter showed CBS13 cellphone video of the fires he’s seen and gotten the same response: they’re legal.
CBS13 reached out to city and fire officials to get answers. City leaders wouldn’t comment on camera, directing CBS13 to their frequently asked questions on homeless issues which state “sidewalk fires are prohibited” if in a reckless manner, but that the Sacramento Fire department is the best judge on safety.
Meanwhile, the Sacramento Fire Department wrote CBS13, “It’s up to the company officer who responds to determine if a fire needs to be extinguished or is being done in a safe manner and following city ordinance.”
“An uncontrolled fire on the sidewalk, it’s just not a good idea,” said Jackson.
Jackson certainly sparked a conversation at the city council meeting. The City Manager’s office is now planning a meeting with police and fire to clear up what is legal and not legal when it comes to homeless fires. They plan to put it in a memo to the public and city leaders citing transparency.
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