Fire Department debates safe street advocates on Oakland road design

"The Oakland Fire Department is mandated by state law to adopt an updated fire code every three years - and the latest one is supposed to be in place by January 1. The code is extensive, because it governs everything from building evacuation requirements to how the city designs its roads so that firefighters can quickly respond in an emergency. This time around, the city's Transportation Department and safe street advocates are again pushing for changes that will allow for more traffic-calming road designs."

"As reported by The Oaklandside during the last code rewrite, the Fire Department prefers to keep roads in Oakland wide enough to accommodate their big fire trucks as they speed to a site and set up to respond. That setup includes outriggers and ladders that make the fire rig as big as 19 feet wide. Yet, as safe streets advocates have consistently pointed out, wide streets encourage speeding by drivers and lead to dozens of deaths and major injuries each year in Oakland."

State law requires Oakland to adopt an updated fire code every three years, with the latest due by January 1. The fire code governs building evacuation rules and how road design enables rapid firefighter response. The Transportation Department and safe-street advocates are pushing for more traffic-calming designs, creating tension over two core issues: street width and traffic-slowing infrastructure like speed bumps, bulbouts, and protected bike lanes. The Fire Department favors wider roads to accommodate large rigs with outriggers and ladders. The department plans to recommend adopting optional California Sections 503 and Appendix D, which set 20- and 26-foot unobstructed width standards and give the fire marshal clearance authority.

Read at The Oaklandside