By Kevork Kurdoghlian
Communications Manager

Marcus Basulto is no stranger to emergencies. Before he became a building inspector, he was a law enforcement officer.

“I’ve been around fires, car accidents, stuff like that,” said Basulto, now an Inspector II at the City of Glendale.

It’s the kind of experience that serves him and the community well when he’s called to the scene of a building damaged by a fire, a car, or some other force.

“If there’s damage where the integrity of the structure is questioned, [the Glendale Fire Department] will usually call us out to do an assessment,” said Basulto, who is certified by the Safety Assessment Program managed by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

Basulto has been providing Glendale’s building safety response at these types of incidents for nearly three years.

The Glendale Fire Department relies on his assessments to help to determine whether a damaged building can be accessed or occupied safely.

“Yellow is limited entry. Red is no entry,” said Basulto, referring to the colors of the tags placed on damaged buildings. “I’ll [make a determination] that day, and then that allows for the owner to get their structural engineer involved.”

The engineer, Basulto said, will generate a report recommending temporary remediation measures. Once the owner makes those repairs, Basulto can downgrade a red tag to yellow, allowing the owner to occupy the building and to work towards securing permits and making permanent repairs.

Some types of damage, like a recent incident involving a person accidently driving their car into their living room, require immediate temporary measures.

“The [Glendale Fire Department was] going to put up some shoring to secure the large opening,” said Basulto, complimenting the firefighters on their quick and skilled carpentry work. “They rely on my knowledge of the code and basic engineering on how [the shoring] is put together.”

Basulto, who also worked as a deputy inspector for 15 years before joining Glendale, visits buildings when they’re at their worst. However, it’s usually not the last time he’ll visit buildings that have endured significant damage.

“It goes from [the Glendale Fire Department] to Building and Safety to Neighborhood Services,” said Basulto, referencing the process of ensuring that an owner builds back a safety structure, which at times also includes Glendale Water and Power. “Eventually, it’ll go through planning, plan check, permit services, and then back to us to inspect.”

From start to finish, Basulto and his building safety and City colleagues are ready to help you build safely. His word of advice is to move forward together.

“When in doubt, call and ask,” he said. “We run into a lot of people who will do remodeling or repair or things of that nature, and they don’t bother to get permits when they’re required.”

Basulto added that, in the end, the simple act of reaching out to inquire about permits will save owners a lot of trouble and money.

By Basulto’s estimates, a vast majority of building code enforcement cases are the result of proactive enforcement.

“We all know the city. We drive it every day,” he said of the City’s building inspectors. “We see things that are out of place and think ‘I haven’t been there yet. Why are they doing this?’”

“It’s all for safety,” added Basulto.

So that you can move forward with the freedom and confidence that you’re going about building in Glendale the right way, call the Permit Services Center at (818) 548-3200. For additional information, visit GlendalePermits.org.