SLO City FD arrived promptly at the scene. However, they spent 15 minutes putting on uniforms and dilly-dallying before doing anything to fight the fire!

Chief Olson, on TV, claims when they arrived at the scene the fire was "deeply seated in two rooms and was raging through the attic."

Videos taken at the scene clearly show that when SLO City FD arrived, only the backyard gazebo and fence were on fire. Flames are "licking" at the eaves but they are not yet on fire.

Video and audio 12 minutes AFTER they arrive have a SLO City FD firefighter (after looking into the attic) saying, "There is smoke in the attic and fire on the eaves," (no fire in any room of the house and no fire yet in the attic).

The same video shows a SLO City FD firefighter (with no tools or hose) casually walking into the house as the "smoke in the attic" statement is made - no fire in the house at this time.

It takes SLO City FD 14+ minutes to get a hose to the backyard and then they only put water on the fence and the remains of the gazebo. No water is sprayed on the house.

It is the 9^th time the hose is dragged to the rear of the homes, before water is put on the house on fire, and they put just a quick spritz on the flames.

By the time the first water is spritzed briefly on the burning eaves and house, SLO City FD has already broken open the 4'x6' skylight and cut and 8'x8' hole in the roof facing the street. No interior attack seems to be considered at any point yet vent holes are cut in the roof to draw the fire into the attic and make for a faster, hotter burndown.

Videos and pictures after the fire show a totally ruined home but no signs of burning below the top studs of the walls (except in the family room that faced the burning gazebo, the sliding door wood trim was burned). SLO City FD took so long to get on the backyard fire that the two houses behind were needlessly damaged. The other two houses should not have been damaged at all.

It seems another example of SLO City FD burning down a home that most fire departments would have easily saved (with only damage to a small portion of the home).

Chief Olson's lack of integrity in describing fires is a problem for the entire community. We feel he would rather spin what happens to make sure SLO City FD looks good when they do badly instead of doing good in the first place.

He is abusing the "hero fireman" image and the fact that firefighters are always given the benefit of the doubt to mendaciously cover up for actions that are not firefighting, seem more like arson under color of authority.

1. Building was NOT on fire when SLO City FD arrived — It was only under the deck on the pilings below.
2. Fire was started by a "homeless" person near the middle of the property under the pilings (which create a space with 8'+ clearance).
3. BC-1 Neal Berryman was in charge.
4. SLO City FD arrived fairly quickly.
5. BC-1 Berryman delayed and delayed, a full 30 minutes, until the fire burning on the pilings under the building got up into the structure.
6. BC-1 Berryman then cut holes in the roof but did no coordinated interior attack, so of course, the fire destroyed and gutted most of the initial restaurant building.
7. BC-1 Berryman and City Fire Marshal Roger Maggio called the fire ARSON by an unknown person, even through they knew about the homeless person. Rodger Maggio told the victims' attorney that, "there was no excuse for BC-1 Berryman to let the fire get up into the restaurant." When the attorney asked what could be done about it, Maggio chuckled and said, "Sue the Fire Department."
8. No follow-up investigation looking for the arsonist was conducted. No actual arson investigation was done because they knew it was not arson.

The "official narratives" of the event tell a totally different story:

1. SLO City FD arrived to a fire which was well underway upstairs on the outside wall of Cabo San Luis.
2. There is no mention that it started under the pier by a homeless or other unknown person.
3. There is no mention of the 30-minute delay in taking action against the fire.
4. SLO City FD cut holes in roofs, and did "their best", but lost most of the area on fire in the process.
5. The cause is called arson by flammable agent upstairs on an outside wall of Cabo San Luis — this means no outsider can review the "investigation" that never took place.
6. All narratives are brief and barely informative.
7. Narratives refer you to the Fire Marshal's report for full details.
8. The Fire Marshal's report is missing (according to our first PRA request on this subject).
   There is no mention of the 30-minute delay in taking action against the fire. This was Rodger Maggio's first report on his own.