Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
City Documents Reveal 'Substantial' Safety Violations at Fresno Medical Lab Before It Closed
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
August 7, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Inspection reports from the city of Fresno show numerous electrical and storage safety dangers — as well as chemicals stored outside the scope allowed — for the company whose disease samples, biological waste, and lab mice would be found months later at a storage facility in Reedley.

It took two years for city inspectors to follow up on demands to correct safety violations, according to city records. City leadership attributed the lack of timely accountability to COVID-19.

Additionally, once the inspections were made, absent management at UMI made it hard for inspectors to see what exactly was being kept at Universal Meditech Inc.’s facility in south central Fresno.

Landlord’s Complaints Prompted Inspectors to Check Out UMI

Complaints from property owners in August 2022 from North Pointe BP LP about UMI spurred then-Fresno Fire Department Chief Kerri Donis to send inspection teams to the medical device manufacturer’s facility at 1320 E. Fortune Ave., according to documents obtained by GV Wire through a Public Records Request.

Photo of Fresno Fire Chief Kerri Donis

“The (property) owners are also concerned that the smell in this building could be the result of animal testing. It says it’s a medical type supply business but something is off here.” — Kerri Donis, then Fresno Fire Department chief, in August 2022 

The property owners took UMI to court at least twice over the condition of the building and changes made by UMI. One of those attempts tried to get them out of the building, according to an email from UMI CEO Xiaoxiao Wang included in the documents.

Following a fire in August 2020, divisions from Fresno Fire filed a list of code violations against UMI and what needed fixing.

The inspection report directed managers to remove hundreds of feet of extension cords, power strips, numerous overloaded circuits, and electrical boxes.

“Likely Covid impacted the ability to follow up,” Donis wrote in an email. City officials declined to comment to GV Wire for this story.

“The owners are also concerned that the smell in this building could be the result of animal testing,” Donis wrote in a August 2022 email. “It says it’s a medical type supply business but something is off here. Can we work together and with any other department appropriate to go check this out?”

Fresno Fire Department inspectors in August 2020 took photos of Universal Meditech Inc. after a fire was reported at the medical device manufacturer. (Fresno Fire Department)

Safety Nightmare at UMI Cited in 2020. Follow-up Came in 2022.

Inspectors had tried unsuccessfully to get into UMI twice in October 2022. Without a manager present, workers did not let inspectors in. Xiaoxiao Wang, CEO of UMI wrote in a November 2022 letter to the Code Enforcement Unit of Office of the City Attorney that he had been looking for new investors and could not be present.

When inspectors were finally able to get inside UMI on Oct. 31, 2022, the inspector reported “substantial modifications” including unsafe electrical upgrades and storage racking not secured to the ground. Electrical outlets and wiring were exposed throughout the building.

“The entire warehouse area electrical wiring was added without the required permits and inspections,” Senior Community Revitalization Specialist Raymond Golden with the Code Enforcement Unit of the Office of the City Attorney reported.

Inspectors in 2020 also reported electrical and storage violations.

Inspections by Fresno County Environmental Health found “items” stored that weren’t included in the county permit for hazardous materials, according to the city inspection report. GV Wire requested a copy of the Fresno County Environmental Health report but did not receive it before the publication of this story.

“Enforcement is delayed due to lack of company representative present to advise on the types of materials present or provide documentation of the materials,” the city report stated.

Inspectors instructed UMI to fix storage and rack safety violations. (Fresno Fire Department)

UMI Boss Told Not to Move Hazardous Materials

In the November 2022 letter to inspectors, Wang said the company had been contacting different “creditor companies to convert our existing assets to them to offset our company and their loans.”

Despite inspectors saying there had been no disposal protocol for chemicals at the company, “a large portion of the items have been disposed of,” according to Wang. There is no clarification on what the disposed items were. At the same time, Wang said creditors would pull their goods away, including chemicals.

“If you think there is anything wrong with the above chemical reagents, please find a temporary place ASAP, and we will send these reagents to that place according to your instructions, and at the same time, inform the creditor company not to pull these items for the time being,” Wang wrote in an email.

Golden, a city inspector, responded with this the same day that Wang emailed:

“I asked that the items not be moved during the pending relocation because these products need to be packaged and transported properly. The City of Fresno waste water inspectors could not gain access to the building today because no one was present except the crew packing up the equipment.”

Fresno Fire Department inspectors also cited numerous electrical hazards at Universal Meditech Inc. (Fresno Fire Department)

UMI Packed Up Shop, Shipped to Reedley

By Dec. 22, 2022, inspectors reported UMI personnel had cleared out and left. The case was closed on Dec. 27, 2022. UMI had tried to reopen up until Aug. 2, when the city denied its application to move near the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

Prestige Biotech would end up taking chemicals and biological materials from UMI — including the 1,000 lab mice, samples of at least 20 different diseases, and biological fluids — and store them at a Reedley lab. Before the mice were euthanized and incinerated by authorities, Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba said it was likely at least some of the dead mice ended up in landfills.

Inspectors took pictures of wiring as an example of unsafe standards at Universal Meditech Inc. (Fresno Fire Department)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

UP NEXT

Could Cuddly Colby Be the Darling Gem for You?

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

15 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

22 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

22 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

22 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

22 hours ago

Musk Announces Forming of ‘America Party’ in Further Break From Trump

22 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 59, Including 21 Children

22 hours ago

California’s Politics Drifts Right While New York’s Leans Left

23 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

2 days ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

2 days ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

TikTok is building a new version of its app for users in the United States ahead of a planned sale of the app to a group of investors, The I...

15 hours ago

A logo is displayed over a door at the U.S. headquarters of the social media company TikTok in Culver City, California, U.S. January 17, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected US Sale, the Information Reports

Boxes of aid are stacked as Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it has commenced operations to begin distribution of aid, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Hamas Government Office Rejects US Accusation of Involvement in Gaza Aid Site Attack

A volunteer searches for flood victims after deadly flooding in Kerr County, Texas, U.S., July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Sergio Flores
15 hours ago

Death Toll From Texas Floods Reaches 78, Trump Plans Visit

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, U.S. on November 13, 2024. (Reuters File)
15 hours ago

Trump Calls Musk’s Formation of New Party “Ridiculous” and Confusing

A 22-year-old suspected DUI driver crashed into a parked CHP motorcycle and tow truck on Highway 99 near Fresno, narrowly missing an officer and bystanders, CHP said Saturday, July 5, 2025. (CHP)
22 hours ago

Fresno DUI Driver Slams Into CHP Motorcycle, Tow Truck on Highway 99

A service member of a drone unit of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces controls a heavy combat drone while it flies over positions of Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk Region, Ukraine June 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
22 hours ago

Russia Downs 120 Ukrainian Drones Overnight, Defense Ministry Says

An Israeli tank maneuvers in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
22 hours ago

Israel Sends Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Talks Ahead of Netanyahu Trip to US

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned nearly 80,000 acres as of Sunday, July 6, 2025, morning, prompting widespread evacuation orders and warnings across three counties. (CalFire)
22 hours ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to Nearly 80,000 Acres, 30% Contained

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend