Firefighters train to inspect

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By Tom Saul | Thursday, June 29, 2006 11:49 PM CDT | () comments

The Davenport Fire Department is ready to take over rental inspections in the city July 1.

However, the department will stop doing routine examinations through mid-August while firefighters learn the ropes, Fire Chief Mark Frese told aldermen Thursday.

District Chief Mike Ryan will oversee the operation until a full-time coordinator can be hired to replace Mike Loos, former head of the city’s neighborhood enhancement office.

Loos resigned June 7 amid allegations that he forgave fees and penalties on rental properties owned by landlord Tony LaHood in exchange for drywall work done at a home he owned. The matter is under investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation after a criminal complaint was initiated by Police Chief Mike Bladel that names both Loos and LaHood.

Firefighters are undergoing training to be certified as rental inspectors, new equipment and software is on order to make the process more efficient, and streamlining the housing code violations list is under way, Frese told the City Council’s Public Safety Committee.

Firefighters will inspect apartment buildings with 11 or more units, while a staff of three full-time civilian inspectors will handle buildings with fewer than 11 units, Frese said. A full-time civilian clerk will also assist.

“We hope by our taking over it will ease the debate on how rental inspections are done and it will become a more internalized process so there Operations of the neighborhood enhancement office have been a frequent target of landlords and representatives of the Quad-City Rental Property Association, a lobbying group for landlords. Primary complaints are that rules are arbitrary, too much time is spent on trouble-free properties, and not enough time is spent on problem rentals.

In March, aldermen voted to eliminate the office as a budget-cutting move that cost 14 full-time employees their jobs. The move drew outrage from some landlords and neighborhood activists who said elimination of the office would mean debris will pile up and neighborhoods will deteriorate.

Landlords will be notified that routine inspections will be delayed for the time being while firefighters go out with civilian inspectors to see how they work and where problems in the inspection process lie.

City Administrator Craig Malin said data will be collected on the new process to see how well it works and how much money can be saved. A report will be made to aldermen in the fall.

Tom Saul can be contacted at

(563) 383-2453 or tsaul@qctimes.com.