“Fire alarms are not working at seven buildings at Santa Ana College as part of a longstanding problem that was known but not addressed, officials confirmed this week,” reported the O.C. Register.
The Santa Ana college administrators have posted security guards as “fire watches” in these buildings. I can only imagine the expense incurred in those extra man-hours. But they have to do this by law – and for good reason.
Plus, doesn’t Santa Ana College have a two year college program for firefighter trainees? They should have known better!
However, the real story is that “College trustees were not told about the broken alarms which in some cases date back to 2005 and originally involved as many as 11 buildings, said John Hanna, president of the board of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD), which operates the college.”
“We’re furious about this,” Hanna said. “People in management were informed and nothing was done.” Maybe Hanna and company are upset, but according to the O.C. Register, it could take two years to install a new alarm system.
Kudos to the student reporters at the El Don college newspaper who broke this story, “The issue became public this week only after the El Don college newspaper published an investigative story about the system.”
Here is the rub, “The problems came to light in 2005 and 2006 inspection reports, but there are no records that anything was ever done with the information. Campus safety officials told the El Don campus newspaper they had reported the problems but repairs were not made.”
This is a firing offense. The Santa Ana College President, Erlinda Martinez (pictured above), ought to get the boot for the lack or reaction to a very serious safety issue. So should any of her other administrators who knew about this but did not do anything to fix the problems.
Here is what Martinez has to say on her web page, “I have been President of Santa Ana College since March 2005 and every day is still a wonder!” So Martinez was at Santa Ana College when the first reports about the fire alarm problems started to roll in.
The problems that were ignored or covered up at Santa Ana College were outrageous:
Minutes from previous facility committee meetings over the last two years do not show any mention of problems with fire alarms, despite written reports about them.
In some cases, problems with the bells ringing caused officials to simply disable them instead of repairing them.
A May 2006 inspection report shows not only rusted and non-working alarms, but also many panels that had dead batteries and other routine maintenance that had not been performed.
The El Don reported that alarms in two buildings had been switched to “silent mode” rather than having been repaired.
The paper also reported that alarms inside Cook Gymnasium, scene of large athletic events attended by hundreds, are not working and its fire hoses were disconnected from water lines.
If the RSCCD Board of Trustees, led by its President, John Hanna, does not insist that the RSCCD Chancellor, Eddie Hernandez, fire the Santa Ana College administrators who were involved in this fiasco, they should be held responsible when it comes time for them to run for reelection.
Is there a double standard at the RSCCD? Imagine if this happened at the RSCCD campus in Orange, Santiago College? God forbid that the majority white students at that campus should be put in danger (see demographics bar chart below). Hanna and his board would have probably already called on the resignation of all involved.
Young lives were put at risk by all those involved. You just can’t look the other way when a college administration team is this dysfunctional. Heads must roll. That they haven’t already makes you wonder if the wrongdoings of the Martinez administration will be swept under the rug because those affected by this fiasco were mostly Latino students.
UPDATE:
The L.A. Times is reporting that “Santiago Canyon College, which is part of the same community college district, finished replacing its alarm system in 2005, after two years of construction at a cost of $247,000.” Why did Santiago Canyon College replace their fire alarm system before Santa Ana College did? The latter campus is far older than SCC. Why did SCC deal with their issues while the SAC officials were busy doing something else? This is fishy, to say the least.
Brilliant, Arturo. Hernandez the Chancellor is allowing untold thousands of minority students (mostly Latino)to remain at risk while protecting the elite whites at SCC.Is this because of Razaism, Arturo? You have one card to play in all hands and it gets old.
Poster 1,
Hernandez serves at the whim of the RSCCD Board, which is made up of two Latinos and six Caucasians.
The bond money that the RSCCD Board used up over the last few years was spent overwhelmingly at the Santiago Canyon campus and at the Carona Sheriff Training Facility, not at Santa Ana College.
Is the RSCCD Board racist? Beats me, but you can judge them by their actions, which speak for themselves.
If the fire alarm fiasco happened at Santiago Canyon College, I think it safe to say that their college president would already be placing his or her resume on Monster.com.
I read this story in the SAC newspaper, El Don, last week. They have an award winning journalism department over there. Why is it that their newspaper is not online for the community, at large to read?
I think their writers and stories should be online.
Don’t worry amigos…they are going to get right on this and get the alarms repaired….Manana…zzzzzzzzzz
Art:
Putting students, employees and visitors at risk like was done at Santa Ana College is unacceptable.
When the Board and the District Chancellor found out about this last month, we immediately started getting the present alarms repaired. Most have been fixed and within 30 days the remainder will. This could have been done in the last two years and was not.
I can not comment on personnel issues–public employees have rights and I can not prejudge anyone. But the Chancellor and our Human resources Department is on this, is conducting an investigation that better get to the bottom of this screwup. The Board won’t be satisfied with Band aids or sweeping anything under the rug. The Board has confidence in the Chancellor to give us the right recommendations.
I will say one thing. I take exception to your inference that we would treat the situation different if this was SCC and inferring that we are racist. Just the data alone that you post shows that both colleges have significant latino student populations(45% at SAC, 32% at SCC)and anglo populations(31% at ASC and 45% at SCC). I might add that both college presidents are latino as is the chancellor. we don’t do business the way you imply and you should know me better then that Art.
We value both institutions equaly and I resent the inference that we would handle things differently at SCC.
I would add that both institutions had sufficient financial resources to complete the fire system upgrades-unfortunately SAC chose not to complete the upgrade. However, the facilities at SAC would still have been safe had people simply repaired the existing alarms, something the District is now making sure is done and which is not costing that much money.
John Hanna–
Art, if thats your excuse, (in post #2)then no one can blame Rob Richardson for the crap the goes on at SAUSD
rick,
I am not sure what you are trying to assert. The SAUSD board has only two Latinos on it, which is very strange considering the demographics of the district.
I do in fact blame Rob Richardson and Audrey Noji for the straits they are in. And Jane Russo, the overpaid, undereducated Superintendent, merits a lot of the blame as well.
After Mijares left they should have cleaned house, but Russo has merely continued the culture of corruption.
John,
I am not saying you are a racist; I don’t think you are. But the situation does not reflect well on the administrators at SAC, or on the RSCCD board.
Again, look at the facts. SCC took care of their system. SAC did not. The SAC president was hired in 2005, right when the problems started.
If the RSCCD board is serious about cleaning up the mess, pressure needs to be applied on Hernandez to fire the SAC president and any of her administrators who were involved in either the coverup or the failure to act. The SAC president in particular bears ultimate responsibility for this fiasco.
BTW, the student reporters at El Don should be honored at a future RSCCD board meeting. I would love to see their newspaper put online. If SAC cannot afford to do that in PDF format, then I suggest they start a blog and post their articles on it. These journalists may have saved thousands of lives.
Lastly, the fact that more bond money was spent at SCC and at the Carona Sheriff Training Facility versus what was spent at SAC looks awful, particularly when you consider not only the demographics, but also the areas that are served by the two campuses. SCC is nestled in an area that is replete with wealthy Caucasians, not so with SAC.
I have heard by the way that there is a move underfoot to float ANOTHER bond, that would benefit only SAC. Please know that I will oppose that. We already had a bond, and promises were already broken. The last thing the voters should do is allow themselves to be fooled again. If anything, SCC owes SAC some of the bond money they got.
And the OC Sheriff’s department should have shouldered at least half the cost off the Carona Sheriff Training Facility.
Santa Ana College Administration, knew about the inoperable fire alarm system.
LIAR
Starting with Bromberger, Bruce, 714-564-6311 Plant Manager Maintenance And Operations. The security dept. summited multiple reports and request for repair, which he ignored. It got so bad, that the fire alarm company would not respond and fix the problem because, Bruce would not pay them. the alarm company would not come out unless they received direct permission from Bruce to even check the system. Bruce would threaten the alarm company to withhold payment if they went over his head. You can ask any of the District Safety Officers and verify this!
A source within, told me, that when ever Bruce was called because of an alarm issue, he would yell and scream and act like a total jerk and refuse to authorize the alarm company to come out and even take a look at the system. If you want to know the truth talk to the Security Officers that had to deal with Bruce and his anger problem.
LIAR
Kanouse, Noemi Vice Pres/Admin Svcs 714-564-6303,
Noemi also received multiple reports, notices and verbal contacts about Bruce and his inept ability to maintain the campus safe. She also received the written reports from the alarm company which according to her own statement, never read! Walk into the Security Office and look at the Fire Alarm Panel, it looks like a Christmas tree that has been on and running for the past 3 years. The red, yellow and green lights have been illuminating the office for multiple years. Any college administrator that has seen it, was either a sleep or intoxicated for them not to have noticed it.
LIAR
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE Edward Hernandez, Jr., Ed.D
Our Chancellor lied to the Board of Trustees, he along with the rest of his Administration team have known.
LIAR
Al Chin Director of Security
he is another that is to busy kissing Bruce’s and the rest of the Administrators Ass, instead of doing his job. Reports go to him from every guard, and his Supervisors like Lt. James Wooley.
BRAVE SOUL!
Lt. Wooley was the only who speaks with the truth, this man deserves a medal.Wooleys job is to summit the reports to Chin and Bruce, they chose to sit and do nothing.
Everyone with the exemption of James Wooley should be looking from and place of employment. John Hanna wants the truth; the question is, will he accept the truth and rid the college of incompetent Administration team. Anything short of this is unacceptable. James Wooley also deserves a promotion. But history has it, the incompetent Administrators will keep their jobs and they will go after James Wooley for speaking with the truth. Lt. Wooley, get yourself a good attorney and you will own “SAC” expect the retaliation to begin.
Everyone should get a copy of El Don newspaper, the OC Register and LA Times have not gone far enough. They should take a lesson from the college reporters. Great Job guys!
How much of the truth is the Board of trustees willing to hear and acknwoldge, should be the question?
Wooley is a hero but what about the poor maintenance team that had to work with that liar Bromberger.He attacked any crew member that called him on his lies.Several people had reported his misconduct to his supervisor Kanouse way before the alarm issues arose,she protected him instead of investigating their allegations.NOW look what happened!!!!He even hid the truth from the guys in his department while he spent the alarm service money elsewhere. Why are they BOTH still employeed at SAC?????
Art,
You are right, heads should roll. But I am not sure you have aimed high enough. It is the chancellor with the support of the board of trustees that has created and vigorously maintained a system that allows this to happen. Think any of those heads are in danger? The system is dysfunctional from the top on down and anyone who dares mention that the emperor has no clothes is quickly decapitated.
On a related topic, if you really want to have some fun start digging into how resources within the district are distributed. You have no idea how well the wealthy Caucasian kids on the hill do compared with their immigrant and mostly non-voting Santa Ana counter parts.
Check your math. two Latinos and six Caucasians = 8. RSCCD Board only has seven members.
Forget investigating !! All they will do is use it to cover up their pathetic buddies. RSCCD has the tools RIGHT NOW to get rid of these low-life idiots. The board policy and administrative regulations state that LYING IS GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION. Evidence IS on tape to prove they are lying.
What are you waiting for, Board of Trustees? Get rid of them before they cover-up and someone gets a smart lawyer.
If you thought the Bush administration was corrupt, well hold on tight and welcome to the RSCCD Empire. Some administrations pride themselves on being transparently open; well this one is arguably opaquely closed. You could liken this to any corrupt dictatorship in history, but that would be too kind.
Nothing and that means nothing happens at either of the colleges with out the District approval. This is well known by single administrator, faculty and staff at any one of the sites. The blame for this situation rests solely on the shoulders of the administrators. They created this situation themselves, and thought they would never get caught.
Here is the bottom line.
The Emperor used the very community that is supposed to be being served. There is a lot of speculation why so much money was spent in the rich areas of Orange County. Here is the answer: Political clout.
Fill in the blanks, and you will see.
The community needs to rise up, mobilize, and vocalize. Encourage the trustees to end this nonsense now. This is a blemish on the whole community. There appears to be no real interest in finding out the truth and actually punishing the guilty parities.
Instead the district is engaging in a attempt to lay the blame on someone as far down the ladder as possible.
Unless the pressure is kept on the Board, heed this warning:
No Administrator will be harmed in the process or results of this investigation!
They have the truth in front of them, they do not want it.
Even still today, with all the publicity, the lies continue to perpetuate around the campuses. The cover up continues. What is said today, contradicts what was said before, and so forth and so on.
SAD! Really just SAD.
El Conquistador
There is a saying that goes, If there is a need for a solution, go back to where the problem started. In this case, it’s starts with the Maintenance dept. manager. As a longtime employee of RSCCD, (though I am no longer at the SAC campus) I have had the misfortune of being on the receiving end of one of Bruce Bromberger’s sarcastic tirades. This came as a result of asking the maintenance dept. to assist in a function as they had done for our dept. in the past. First I, and later my Administrator were told in a very demeaning way that we would no longer be getting any help from his dept. Keep in mind that the function was one for the students. Isn’t that who we are serving? Apparently Mr.Bromberger has somehow decided that the students are some kind of nuisance that are to be ignored at all cost. With that kind of thinking, it is no wonder that such things as functioning fire alarms and sprinklers, that can insure the safety of all the students, faculty and staff are to be ignored as well. I have related to you my firsthand experience dealing with Mr.Bromberger, I have heard of many other occurances where he has berated those he feels are beneath him, mine is only one brick in the wall Bromberger has built. After this debacle, I do not see how anyone can feel safe enrolling or sending a loved one to SAC as long as Bruce Bromberger is allowed to serve in any capacity. After the dust settles, we will all be able to see whether the Board of Trustees is truly outraged that a fire system was allowed to fall into such a state of disrepair that it could of cost the lives of hundreds of students and staff.
The sad fact of the matter is, ultimately, it will be the students that suffer. Less enrollment equals less money, less money means that necessary programs will be at risk.
Anyone found lying to cover up their dereliction of duties should be fired outright. It is time that RSCCD Board sends a message to the community that they will not tolerate lies on any level. Especially those entrusted with maintaining our safety as well as our safety systems.
Going back to where the trouble STARTED is the best place to look for the eventual solution.
Director Al Chin is not a liar? He was working on fixing the fire system by getting estimates before Lt. Wooley statrted working for the college. Lt. Wooley is not a hero or deserves a medal. He covered items up for Bruce Bromberger. He only spoke when It hit the fan. Why didn’t he speak up for the last two years, don’t be decieved, he is guilty also
Al Chin is not a LIAR, Right!
“Director Al Chin is not a liar? He was working on fixing the fire system by getting estimates before Lt. Wooley statrted working for the college.”
How long does one take to fix or file a report with his superiors about a faulty fire alarm system, 3 years!
Before you write something pay close attention to your format!
how long has Wooley been at SAC?
If Al Chin was working on fixing the problem why is he in the predicament he is in now. I just don’t blame Chin, I blame Bruce for being an incompetent moronic blabbering sarcastic power hungry idiot! dido, for the president and chancellor office.
If Al Chin was working on the alarms before Wooley, and Chin is his supervisor, and Bromberger decides who does the work and how it gets paid for, What is Wooley guilty of – doing his job and running into a wall of corruption ?
Still a hero in my book.
Post # 15
Start where it starts and call that the college plant manager Bruce Bromberger if you like, but do not stop there. Going from the start to the finish this ends up right in the lap of the chancellor. Here is how I connect those dots. There is ample evidence that Mr. Bromberger reported and discussed multiple times the fire alarms with his supervisor vice president of administrative service, Noemi Kanouse. Likewise there is evidence that Ms. Kanouse reported the situation to the college president Erlinda Martinez. According to the presidents own words the
It was not my intention to suggest that Bruce Bromberger be the only one held responsible for putting thousands of lives at risk. As stated in the El Don, there are others who knew about the faulty alarm systems and did not act as they should have. If they had knowledge of the facts, and still did not act, they should also lose their jobs. We will have to hope that the ongoing investigation implicates everyone who knew, how much they knew, and when they first became aware of the problems with the alarm systems. If ANY individual has been found to have deliberately ignored the test results, or worse yet, lied about the results of the testing, they should be fired outright! How else can we have confidence in RSCCD’s leaders in the future? It is my understanding that Bruce Bromberger stated in a meeting that, the results of the last test conducted by the company that is certified to conduct the appropriate test’s, stated that there were no problems found with SAC’s alarm systems. If that statement is truthful, there isn’t a problem. If it is a lie, it shows a deliberate act to cover up the truth (as well as put lives at risk). It should be very simple to prove the statement a truth, or a lie. Who’s job is it to make sure the alarm systems are maintained or repaired? This appears to be a MAINTENANCE issue. It is obvious that the alarms were tested and maintained in the preceding years.
If anyone, on any level, knew the extent of the problems with the alarms (Administrators may have been lied to by Bromberger and Kanouse, as were the faculty) they should be fired as well! Up to and including the Chancellor.
Plain and simple, lies cannot be covered up. If someone has lied, or downplayed the seriousness of this problem, they have put RSCCD in a position where they are liable. The public is curious to see how those who are found to have lied, are held accountable! This terrible situation would only be made worse by ignoring those who have lied.
It is a sad fact that someone was “rolling the dice” with our lives
#19 said
“Al Chin has been refreshingly open that he and many other district managers were aware of the circumstances.”
Refreshingly open?! How about criminally negligent? If Chin were truly honest, he would have notified the students, staff and faculty that their lives were at risk each and every time they entered the buildings that had no alarms OR fire suppression systems.
Al Chin’s “honesty” seems to coincide with the exact moment the student newspaper reporter’s questions were asked. Would you call a murderer “refreshingly open” when he pleads guilty at trial? Jailhouse honesty is not to be confused with the real thing!
#21 I do make a distinction between incredibly poor judgment and active intentional deception. There has been quite a bit of both at RSCCD but I have not seen anything yet that has me believing that Mr. Chin is guilty of the latter. That could change as more sunlight shines into Denmark and illuminates the source of the stench. Time will tell.
##5 John Hanna says The Board has confidence in the Chancellor to give us the right recommendations.
PLEASE!!!! Would the board have confidence in the fox they put in charge of the hen house to give recommendations on the chickens that seem to keep disappearing? Does CONFLICT OF INTEREST mean anything to them?
The investigation is a SHAM! A classic cover-up. The chancellor will ensure that he looks good and that anyone close to him looks good as well. The law firm hired to do the investigation wants to keep its long standing cozy financial relationship and will do what the chancellor wants to make sure that money flow does not dry up. You are a great lawyer John and you know all about conflict of interest so shame on you. This whole thing is a shame that RSCCD should be embarrassed about and really cleaning house. The investigation is a SCAM to only make it look like something was done.
Bruce “the Juice” Bromberger is a liar like O.j. If it dosen’t work you must acquit!! HA HA. Bruce Bromberger is known for not answering his phone at night when needed by safety officers to fix a problem that is out of their hands. Hire David Perez back!!!!!
Please don’t blame Al Chin, Director of Safety.. Can He authorize and write a million dollar check to fix the fire system..Also lets get to the point..The safety officers are doing a great job, responding to incidents, disturbances, and catching and arresting any criminals committing a crime. These are the real hero’s on campus. Santa Ana is not a great area and these officers are confronting problems on a weekly and daily basis. Lets give a hand to of the Uniformed officers…call us… it takes 2-5 minutes to respond..Call the SAnta Ana PD, it may take 30 minutes. The Police are busy and understaffed. If it wasn’t for the uniformed safety officers, numerous situations would get worse..local criminals and gangbangers know Its “hook em and book em” if you commit a crime at santa ana college and the safety dept. catches you!!!
Al Chin deserves recognition for safety officers who do a good job and care about their jobs and reputation. Again a big hand to all of our brother and sister officers at Santa Ana College Safety Dept.!!!
Al Chin may be a nice guy, and he is a great cook and hosts tail gate parties like no ones business. However, he knew all about this, and hid his head in the sand like the other Managers. Watch him let Wooley take the fall for this. That is his way, place the blame on someone else. But that is the way the place works isn’t it? Most of these folks are all came as a package deal from Cerritos, Long Beach City, etc and etc.
They all should go. Every last one of them that knew, and hid.
The SAC safety officers are great and have nothing to do with the current fire alarm fiasco. All of you should all be given a huge Christmas bonus for the good you do. I especially commend each and every one of you for the work you do given that you are charged with protecting more staff at SAC, protecting more faculty at SAC and protecting more students at SAC with the same manpower as that the district has allocated for the same job at SCC which has considerably less staff, less faculty and less students to watch over in a location that is generally considered to be a much safer area than that of SAC. To all of you, your commitment to serving the greater good rather than narrowly focusing only on equitable working conditions will earn you all your wings when you get into heaven.
Centennial Campus had their fire alarm system down for over a year and a half. Numerous work orders were sent to Bruce Bromberger who said there was no problem. Nilo Lipez finally had the system repaired.