A propane barbecue on a first-floor balcony. A written rule about grills. A six-alarm fire that gutted Spinnaker Cove in Foster City — about 51 units, more than 150 residents displaced, building red-tagged and a total loss. Four firefighters injured.
Public reporting: investigators initially pointed to an unattended grill; a resident was arrested; San Mateo County prosecutors later dropped criminal charges after the official cause was ruled undetermined. Accused, not convicted. Civil questions may still exist. We are not retrying anyone on a microphone.
This week’s case file asks the volunteer-board questions: what a rule on paper is worth when the building does not survive; what it costs when enforcement is theater; what you risk if the next grill night is “someone else’s problem.” Cost. Risk. Whether the fight — posting the rule, enforcing it, documenting it — is worth it before the smoke.
Homework at the end. Bring the popcorn.
HOA Case Files, from SoShiny.com. New case every week. We are not your attorney.
