Choose a building block.REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
October 20, 2026
FROM
MOE YOUSIF, Interim Director, Project and Facilities Management Department
REBECCA SUAREZ, Director, Department of Risk Management
SUBJECT
Title
Termination of Emergency Project Necessary to Recover from Fire at 364 North Mountain View Avenue
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Terminate the finding, first made by the Board of Supervisors on August 19, 2025, that there is substantial evidence that the fire at 364 North Mountain View Avenue on July 1, 2025, created an emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code section 22050, that required immediate action to prevent or mitigate the threat to life, health, property and essential public services, necessitating fire remediation services at 364 North Mountain View Avenue.
(Presenter: Moe Yousif, Interim Director, 387-5000)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The action to terminate this emergency will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as it is non-financial in nature.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On July 1, 2025, the County experienced severe property loss from a major fire that swept through the structure located at 364 North Mountain View Avenue in San Bernardino. This historically registered building is County-owned and was previously occupied by the Public Defender’s Office and was vacant during the time of the fire.
On August 19, 2025 (Item No. 44), the Board found there was substantial evidence that immediate action was necessary to prevent or mitigate the loss of impairment to life, health, property and essential public services posed by the fire at 364 North Mountain View Avenue, which constitutes an emergency pursuant to Public Contract Code sections 22050 and 22035, required immediate fire remediation activities, without the delay from a formal competitive solicitation of bids to procure remediation and construction services for the Project.
The Project included remediation and construction services, including industrial hygienist vendors, structural engineering services, structural remediation of damaged structural members, and roof repairs. At the time, it was unknown whether the building was salvageable, and one of the Project’s purposes is to make that determination.
Following the Board’s finding that there was an emergency, Project and Facilities Management Department (PFMD) procured structural engineering and architectural services through an existing on-call contract to assess the damage caused by the fire. PFMD received the Assessment Report on September 23, 2025.
The report indicated that the observed fire damage is primarily non-structural in nature and, while additional investigation would be required once the ceilings are removed, the building’s overall integrity remains sound. As a historic building listed as part of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP No. 97001632), particular attention was paid to the character-defining features of the building for feasibility of repair and retention or replacement of these elements.
The fire and heat caused significant non-structural damage to the southwest portion of the building, including furniture, fixtures, equipment, finishes, doors, and partitions. Steam, soot, and smoke damage were observed throughout the remainder of the interior spaces. A portion of the exterior glazing and clay tile roofing were broken as part of the efforts to extinguish the fire. While glazing was damaged, the exterior steel windows did not warp and could be remediated with cleaning and new glazing.
PFMD has completed the interior fire remediation and abatement activities necessary to safely access and further evaluate the building. On September 9, 2026, the industrial hygienist confirmed that the remediation contractor successfully passed clearance air sampling, completing all interior abatement work. Following completion of the abatement and access to previously concealed areas was achieved, the structural engineer completed its final evaluation of the fire damage on September 15, 2026. On September 22, 2026, PFMD received the final structural report confirming that no structural elements were damaged by the fire.
On September 28, 2026, the exterior lead paint, shrub, and soil removal activities were completed under environmental monitoring. The County will be addressing the remaining utility disconnections necessary to remove the final equipment including plumbing pipes and a portion of the air handler from the building. With the interior remediation complete and the final structural evaluation confirming that the fire did not damage the building's structural elements, the emergency conditions requiring immediate remediation have been addressed, and any remaining work can proceed through the County's standard project development process and Risk Management Department (Risk Management) will continue to coordinate and process the County's insurance claim associated with the fire and resulting property damage.
No further action is necessary to address the effects of the emergency. A termination of the emergency finding is recommended in accordance with Public Contract Code section 22050, as the project has been completed.
PROCUREMENT
On July 2, 2025, PFMD requested a quote from Perkins Eastman Architects DPC via an on-call contract for structural engineering and architectural services to assess the damage caused by the fire. A quote in the amount of $40,408 was received on September 2, 2025 and the corresponding purchase order was issued on September 8, 2025.
On July 9, 2025, Risk Management submitted a service request to Pacific EH&S Services, Inc. to evaluate fire damage and coordinate response efforts with the insurance carrier. On January 9, 2026, Pacific EH&S Services, Inc. provided a site clean-up plan (Procedure 5), as required by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) for abatement activities. As of September 22, 2026, Risk Management has incurred $66,350.96 in costs for services provided by Pacific EH&S Services, Inc. in support of this claim.
To support the insurance claims process and clearly define the scope of remediation work, PFMD solicited bid proposals from two contractors based on the original site assessments. Following review by the insurance carrier, the initial proposals were evaluated, and a second site walk was recommended to further refine the scope and pricing.
PFMD conducted a rebid site walkthrough on February 11, 2026, with BELFOR USA Group Inc., doing business as BELFOR Property Restoration, and Brickley Construction Company Inc., doing business as Brickley Environmental. Final proposals were submitted to PFMD on February 18, 2026.
PFMD completed an initial review of the bids for responsiveness, scope alignment, and overall cost reasonableness against the bid documents and the approved site clean-up plan. The bids were then sent to Risk Management for evaluation in coordination with the County’s insurance adjuster to confirm coverage applicability and to ensure alignment with the selected vendor and procurement approach under the insurance claims process. Based on this completed review and alignment, Brickley Construction Company, Inc. (Contractor) was selected to perform the remediation work.
On April 17, 2026, through the delegated authority process, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) approved a construction contract with the Contractor in the amount of $775,620 and directed the Purchasing Department to issue a purchase order. Construction completion was set at 125 days following the issuance of the Notice to Proceed (NTP). The NTP established the construction start date as May 18, 2026. The Contractor notified SCAQMD of the construction work and began mobilization for preconstruction activities the week of May 19, 2026, following SCAQMD approval.
During the abatement process, an area that had previously been determined to be free of hazardous materials and undisturbed by the fire, and therefore not requiring remediation, was found to contain asbestos-contaminated plywood, framing, drywall, ceiling tile system and furring strips requiring abatement.
On June 26, 2026, through the delegated authority process, the CEO approved Amendment No. 1 to the construction contract with the Contractor in the amount of $136,995 and directed the Purchasing Department to issue a purchase order to approve the additional asbestos abatement work. Amendment No. 1 also extended the contract term from 125 calendar days to 165 calendar days, changing the completion date from September 20, 2026, to October 30, 2026.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniel Pasek, Deputy County Counsel, 387-9000) on September 24, 2026; Risk Management (Noel Cantrell, Administrative Supervisor I, 386-88910) on September 25, 2026; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on September 28, 2026; Project and Facilities Management (Sarah Riley, Chief of Project Management, 387-5115) on September 29, 2026; and County Finance and Administration (Yael Verduzco, Principal Administrative Analyst, 387-5285, and Scott Bruckner, Administrative Analyst, 387-4020) on September 30, 2026.