Hot Dogs Win a Concession : Vendor’s Protest Persuades Inspectors to Come to Him

A crusading Canoga Park hot-dog man who says Los Angeles County put the cart before the horse in enforcing tough new food-vendor rules has taken some of the bite out of the regulations.

County health inspectors have traveled to the San Fernando Valley to inspect Morton S. Diamond’s hot-dog cart instead of requiring him to tow his two-wheeled food stand to their downtown headquarters for its annual inspection.

And Diamond has persuaded Supervisor Mike Antonovich to investigate the safety of storing the propane-fueled carts inside county-mandated cart “commissaries” each night.

Downtown Inspections

The downtown inspection policy and enforcement of the commissary rule were announced last fall by county health officials.

Diamond, who parks his 840-pound cart outside his Canoga Park home at night, contends it is unsafe to take tanks of the highly flammable and explosive propane indoors. He said fire safety codes prohibit the storage of propane inside buildings that lack special ventilation and other safeguards.

County health officials say they require indoor commissaries so that cart food-preparation surfaces are kept clean and food is properly stored. They said they have delayed enforcement of the commissary requirement for Diamond for at least 90 days until the safety issue is resolved.

“They came out here to inspect my cart, and that is a victory,” Diamond said Thursday. Several other privately owned carts were inspected at the same time as Diamond’s.

“They said they’ll inspect carts here whenever we get a group together. At least we got that out of them. But I’ve asked them how they can require carts to go into a commissary where they may blow up. Is that safety?”

Diamond says about 200 hot-dog carts that operate in the Valley will benefit from the new county inspection procedures.

2,500 Licensed Food Carts

He said all but a handful of those carts operate without benefit of commissaries. There are about 2,500 licensed food carts in the county.

Victoria Fouce, an aide to Antonovich, said she has asked the county Fire Department to investigate Diamond’s commissary safety claim.

“If he is correct, he has a legitimate argument. People’s safety is in danger,” Fouce said.

Fire safety experts agreed Thursday that propane is an explosive gas that will cling to the floor if it leaks indoors where there is not proper “air transfer.” But they were uncertain what fire codes directly apply to hot-dog carts.

“I’d agree with them that it’s unsafe. I’d rather have it outside than inside,” city Fire Department Inspector Charlie Arnado said of the propane-equipped carts. He said people storing propane indoors in the city are required to have a special Fire Department permit.

But county Fire Department Deputy Chief Paul Delaney said that, in unincorporated areas, 5 gallons of propane can be stored indoors without a permit. Up to 60 gallons can be stored in certain buildings if a permit is obtained, he said.

Robert Reid, vice president of technical services for Petrolane, a Long Beach-based propane supply company, said nationally accepted fire codes generally prohibit the storage of propane tanks or cylinders indoors. Propane-powered vehicles can be parked indoors--but not such things as propane-equipped carts, he said.

All three suggested that hot-dog vendors unhook and remove their 5-gallon propane cylinders and store them in a safe place outdoors if food carts are to be moved inside at night.

Reid and Arnado said leaking propane from a dim sum cart at a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco exploded last fall, injuring 19 and causing $900,000 in damage. The U. S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration blamed the explosion on improperly stored propane tanks that were not equipped with overflow valves.

Richard Wagener, chief county environmental health officer and head of the health department’s vehicle inspection program, said his agency is prepared to work with fire officials and building and safety authorities on the propane issue.

“I’m not looking to create a situation where there will be an explosion or fire where people get hurt,” said Wagener, who inspected Diamond’s cart and conditionally approved it. “We want to make certain the carts are kept clean.”

Diamond, meanwhile, said he intends to keep pressing the county to relax its hot-dog cart rules. “If you lie in the street like a lifeless dog, they’ll sweep you away,” he said.