FRESNO, Calif. (KGPE) – New developments into the Reedley Illegal medical lab operation where 20 infectious diseases, along with around 1000 bioengineered mice were found.
The lab company that operated the Reedley lab, used to operate in Fresno. Photos show what appears to be hundreds of mice, hazardous chemicals, and multiple electrical violations at the Fresno facility.
Back in August 2020, a fire broke out at the Fresno lab near North and Orange. The fire report and other city reports document the hazards, but nothing was done for years.
The fire report lists the cause as undetermined, but employees say it was likely electrical.
In September of 2020, a city report detailed unpermitted lab walls and electrical work including overloaded circuits, and hundreds of feet in extension cords.
Two years passed with nothing done, then in August of 2022, the landlord for the lab-raised concerns to Fire Chief Kerri Donis.
In an email to city staff, Donis wrote “It says it’s a medical type supply business but something is off here”. The email continues with Donis stating the building owner was concerned “that the smell in this building could be the result of animal testing”.
The Chief alluded to a lack of oversight due to “likely covid impacted the ability to follow up.”
The email prompted a joint city and county inspection in October 2022.
Dozens of photos taken by Fresno city code enforcement officers in 2022 show tubs of experimental mice, vats of hazardous materials and other unmarked chemicals, hundreds of feet of extension cords, and other electrical hazards.
Action on the part of the city was delayed.
The city code enforcement employees and the lab’s self-identified president exchanged emails. In those emails, the president stated the chemicals are for in vitro fertilization testing kits, and said the company was in the process of moving everything to a new location due to a landlord dispute.
The city asked them not to move the chemicals, due to safety concerns, but at that point, it was too late. The creditor for the company moved supplies to Reedley.
In 2023, the company then tried to move back to the city of Fresno in a building near the airport but the Reedley site was discovered, shut down, and a site near the airport was denied a permit.
Our station reached out to a city spokesperson, but they declined to comment further.
Earlier this week they sent us this statement:
“Universal Meditech, Inc. (UMI) /Prestige Biotech, Inc. (PBI) submitted operational statements for occupancy of a warehouse and office space in east-central Fresno located at 3900 N. Blattella Lane. These were submitted on March 15, 2022, and June 20, 2023, respectively to the City Planning and Development Department.
A letter from the City of Fresno was sent on August 2, 2023, to the owner of the building, Ford Tetra Partners outlining current issues with the latest operational statement provided by PBI. A copy of the letter is attached.
As of today, August 3, 2023, the building has not received final inspections or an occupancy permit. Without owner authorization, a list of hazardous materials, and appropriate hazardous material handling permits- the operational statement cannot be evaluated or approved. The project must also comply with all local, state, and federal regulatory guidelines and laws.
TIMELINE OF KNOWN PRIOR BUSINESS DEALINGS
The business at 1320 E. Fortune Avenue was approved to occupy Universal Meditech, Inc. on August 14, 2018.
On August 26, 2020, the Fresno Fire Department completed an incident report. The report stated that a fire at the lab had burned surrounding shelving and materials. It also noted unpermitted lab walls and unpermitted electrical wiring.
On September 8, 2020, a Fire Damage Report was completed by the City Building and Safety Services Division.
Between 2020 and 2022, all City inspections were scaled back due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including Fresno Fire and Code Enforcement inspections.
In November 2022, various inspections took place, including one by Fresno County Environmental Health. Amidst inspections by City Code Enforcement, Fresno Fire inspectors, and County officials – the CEO of UMI, XiaoXiao Wang notified city officials of a dispute with the landlord and subsequent court proceedings related to the lease.
On December 27, 2022, the tenant moved out and the case was closed.
Three months later, Ford Tetra Partners submitted paperwork identifying UMI as the proposed tenant of the Blattella Lane building
