In light of the fire in Oakland, fire crews in Kern County are ensuring a similar disaster does not happen here.
Victor Marby is an arson investigator for the Bakersfield Fire Department. He says in order to prevent fires like the one in Oakland, it needs to be a concerted effort.
Over the weekend, BFD posted to their Facebook page a message regarding fire safety and their mission to keep Bakersfield safe. In it they explain why sometimes they are very stringent when it comes to fire regulations.
"We go out almost daily and observe some of the residences and commercial structures in the city of Bakersfield to see if they are being occupied illegally, to see if they've been posted correctly for non-inhabitants for code enforcement and then we enforce the municipal code accordingly for people occupying those businesses."
There is also an app called Bakersfield Mobile. It allows people to report any suspicious activity, which is then distributed to the appropriate department. It is available on the App Store.
