Fire Commission - April 25, 2018

 

 

 

The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=30…

 

President Cleaveland called the meeting to order at 5:01 p.m.

 

1. ROLL CALL

 

Commission President Ken Cleaveland Present

Commission Vice President Stephen Nakajo Present

Commissioner Michael Hardeman Present

Commissioner Francee Covington Present

Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese Present 

 

Chief of Department Joanne Hayes-White Present

 

Mark Gonzales Deputy Chief – Operations

Jeanine Nicholson Deputy Chief --Administration

 

Dan De Cossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Tony Rivera Support Services

Michael Cochrane Homeland Security

Andy Zanoff EMS

Khai Ali Airport Division

Joel Sato Division of Training

 

Assistant Chiefs

Bob Postel Division 2

Tom Siragusa Division 3

 

Staff

Mark Corso Deputy Director of Finance

Olivia Scanlon Communications and Outreach

 

 

3. PUBLIC COMMENT

 

There was no public comment.

 

4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES [Discussion and possible action]

Discussion and possible action to approve meeting minutes.

 

• Minutes from Regular Meeting on April 11, 2018.

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the above meeting Minutes.  Commissioner Veronese Seconded.  Motion to approve above Minutes was unanimous.

 

There was no public comment.

 

4. CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT’S REPORT [Discussion]

REPORT FROM CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT, JOANNE HAYES-WHITE

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting on April 11, 2018, including budget, academies, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.

 

Chief Hayes-White reported on events since the last meeting on April 11, 2018.  Chief Hayes-White stated that in regards to the budget, they presented before the Budget and Finance Committee in March and submitted the Department’s budget.  Per the chair, Supervisor Cohen, they will await further presentation on the budget during the month of June, after Mayor Farrell submits his balanced budget.  She added that they are scheduled to go before the Budget and Finance Committee on June 15th and either June 21st or 22nd and on June 18th where there will be an opportunity for public comment.  She announced that they had an internal budget committee meeting that was chaired by Deputy Director Corso and also attended by Vice President Nakajo to review some of the Department’s priorities.  Regarding the Division of Training, she mentioned that the 124th class is in their fifth week, with 54 members.  She added the preparations will begin for the selection process for the 125th class in the coming weeks.  With regards to activities she attended throughout the reporting period, she stated that she participated in a press conference related to street-smarts, designed for elementary aged children and championed by Supervisor Norman Yee.  She stated that on April 13, 2018, Chief Zanoff participated and received recognition from City College of San Francisco as an employer partner due to the close partnership they have with the Department.  She attended the monthly labor-management meeting with Local 798; the 1906 Earthquake activities, such as the Lotta’s Fountain commemoration, followed by the Golden Hydrant tribute, along with Anita Lee, Mayor Lee’s widow.  She acknowledged all the hard work from members of the department that participated in the mobile command unit tour in lot A by the ballpark, where they had command vehicles from the Airport, the Police Department, the Fire Department, the Sheriffs’ Department, and other neighboring agencies.  Cal OES also participated in that event and she acknowledged Lt. Baxter who put a lot of work into that event as well as Chief Cochrane who did a lot of the coordination.  She touched on the Hotel Heroes event she attended; the Earth Day Breakfast; the NERT Drill, the Cherry Blossom Festival which Vice Present Nakajo and Commissioner Covington also attended; and the gathering at City Hall where a delegation from Cork, Ireland signed the LGBTQ initiatives as it relates to San Francisco and Cork.

 

Commissioner Covington thanked the Chief for her report and asked about the numerous committees that are operating within the Department on various items and whether anyone from the Union sits on those committees.  Chief Hayes-White explained that it is her understanding that there is someone representing Local 798 from an executive board level on every committee.  Commissioner Covington asked for an update on the two new captains hired at Fire Prevention.  Chief Hayes-White stated that one captain is a liaison working more closely with the Municipal Transportation Agency and the other with Housing and Development projects and she would be more than happy to have them present at a future commission meeting.

 

Commissioner Veronese confirmed that the full-time position that the commission has advocated for is still being requested during the budget process and that the Department should know whether or not it was approved sometime before the Mayor submits a balanced budget on June 1, 2018.  He also confirmed that MOU negotiations between Local 798 and the City need to be finalized by May 15, 2018.  He acknowledged all of the potential recruits in the room that seem to attend every meeting with the hopes of getting selected for a firefighting position within the Department.  He stated his amazement of Chief Hayes-White attending the funeral of Len Stefanelli, as he knows how busy she was that day and he was glad she was able to attend.  He talked about the career of Len Stefanelli.

 

President Cleaveland thanked the Chief for her report and confirmed that there are between 2,500 to 3,000 people on the NTN eligible list.

 

There was no public comment.

 

REPORT FROM ADMINISTRATION, DEPUTY CHIEF JEANINE NICHOLSON

Report on the Administrative Divisions, Fleet and Facility status, Finance, Support Services, Homeland Security and Training within the Department.

 

Chief Nicholson reported on events for the month of March 2018.  She began her report with the Physician’s Office stating that they conducted 60 probationary permanent physicals in multiple ranks, and 41 return-to-work evaluations.  With the regard to the Investigative Services Bureau, 72 drug and alcohol tests were conducted with negative results.  She touched on the Assignment Office, Support Services in which she mentioned that all of the wash extractors for the PPE’s to decontaminate have been put in place at the stations.  She announced that the Moose Boat is due in September and is capable of firefighting and has a dive platform and CBRNE capabilities (chemical, radiological, nuclear biological and explosive detection capabilities); and that six new engines from Ferrara are on order.  She touched on Station 35; the Ambulance Deployment Facility; and Station 5 which is still on track for completion in December.  She mentioned that in-service suppression training had 600 hours of hands-on training to over 200 members and EMS in-service training had 9,000 hours of training, which includes online training as well as classroom training.

 

Commissioner Hardeman confirmed that the new Moose Boat is very similar to the one the Department currently has.  He announced that Victor Makras has been appointed to serve on the Port Commission.

 

Commissioner Veronese asked in regards to the three-alarm fire last week if he could get an update on the member that was injured.  Chief Hayes-White answered that the member was transported, treated and released and he is doing fine.  Commissioner Veronese talked about his friend who recently had a severe heart attack and that the Department responded and saved his life and he was wondering if there is a way that members of the Department can get further information about what happens with patients, especially for the ones that they save, and if that information is actually helpful to the members of the Department in the way of morale or in a way on how they deal with stress.  Chief Hayes-White answered that they will definitely look into it, but that some people might think it’s helpful and others might not, that once they deliver patients to the hospital, that’s all they want to know.  She added that when they have a willing patient, particularly someone that was in a life-threating situation, often times, the Department gets in touch with them or they get in touch with the Department, and that has worked out well.

 

Commissioner Covington thanked Chief Nicholson for her report and confirmed that CBRNE capabilities on the Moose Boat are chemical, radiological, nuclear, biological and explosive detection capabilities and that the boat was acquired through a Homeland Security Grant.  She added that that is why she keeps asking for a grant writer, because the Department needs these monies and opportunities from elsewhere and that she recently read that a lot of Homeland Security funding and equipment, particularly military-style equipment, is not being requested by most municipalities these days because the citizens are upset about the militarization of their local police departments and that the Fire Department would be happy recipients of any monies that are out there.  She asked for an updated on Stations 16 and 35.  Assistant Deputy Chief Rivera stated that Station 35 is in the process of getting all the required approvals to move forward and he confirmed that the float portion would be prefabbed in China and shipped to Treasure Island to be assembled and that Station 16 is moving right along and is in the home stretch.

 

President Cleaveland asked how one would get involved with the fire reserves.  Chief Hayes-White answered that the fire reserves work under the Division of Training and they typically have about 50 active reserves at a time who meet every Thursday night and do training for about a two to three-hour period of time at 19th and Folsom.  She added that there is a process by which an application can be submitted as vacancies open up and that they must be San Francisco residents.

 

There was no public comment.

 

5. OVERVIEW OF ASSISTANT DEPUTY CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY’S POSITION [Discussion]

Assistant Deputy Chief of Homeland Security, Michael Cochrane to present an overview of his position.

 

Assistant Deputy Chief Cochrane stated that currently, he is working on updating the manual for disaster planning and making sure that all the information is correct.  He has participated in the Urban Areas Security Initiative which deals with how to respond to weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons and things of that sort, to preventing it, how to respond and how to recover from that type of event.  Under his role in Special Operations, they are looking at what is the best equipment to protect the members and getting that equipment through grant funds.  He explained how he plans for large events such as the arrival of dignitaries and large parades and other large events that are held in the City.  He talked about mobile command rally, and upgrade to the command van so it will be able to communicate regionally and be able to dispatch out of it in a large disaster.  He mentioned that the K-9 Unit works on the USAR team and they are trying to secure a new dog for the Unit.

 

Commissioner Covington asked for an update on the drone policy.  Chief Cochrane explained that he has done some research from small departments to larger departments to see how they handle their drone policies internally.  Commissioner Covington asked what needs to be done to be cleared to have a drone in the Fire Department.  Chief Cochrane answered that according to the Committee on Information Technology, there is a pilot program in effect that can be extended and he mentioned that it is his understanding that drones cannot be flown over fires if you don’t have a flight plan.  Chief Hayes-White added that the policy needs to be reviewed by the City Attorney’s office and COIT to make sure it’s in sync with the responsible measures required, and she wants to make sure before the Department launches it, it is something that they can work with in terms of funding for the program and in terms of training and maintenance, and that they are not quite there yet.  Commissioner Veronese added that the draft policy has been in his in-box for a couple of months and he owes Chief Cochrane his revisions before they submit it to the City Attorney.  He added that COIT will also have to get involved because one of the issues is they don't allow them to fly at night and he sees the Department using them at cliff rescues during the nighttime hours.  Commissioner Covington recommended that they put the policy forward with daytime authority, because otherwise they will have to continue to wait, and it's important to her to move forward with the draft policy. 

 

Vice President Nakajo stated that he called for this item to be put on the agenda because it gives the commission an opportunity to dialogue and hear concepts and ideas and to welcome Chief Cochrane to the Command Staff.  He stated that he realizes the tremendous amount of experience, responsibility, and expertise that comes with overseeing the Division of Homeland Security and he appreciates the update.  He touched on his position on the drone policy and he agrees with Commissioner Covington about having eyes in the sky but he also thinks that they need to have a clear list of responsibilities on how the Department will utilize drones.  Vice President Nakajo also confirmed with Chief Cochrane that in a city-wide emergency, Chief Hayes-White is the point person in terms of overall responsibility of the department coordination.

 

Commissioner Veronese touched on his involvement and input with regards to the draft policy and he’s fairly confident when it gets in front of the commission for approval, that most of the questions being asked will be answered in the final draft.  With regards to the Moose Boat, he confirmed that the two monitor hoses would have about two-thousand-gallons per minute capacity, which is the equivalent to one of the department’s fire engines compared to 18,000 gallons per minute capacity on the St. Francis fire boat hoses.

 

Commissioner Hardeman mentioned that Chief Cochrane has a difficult job and he thinks that the responsibilities that he has for protecting San Francisco and its population is an enormous job.  He stated that he also supports the department having drones but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be as quick a process as they were hoping.

 

Commissioner Covington pointed out that with regards to the drone policy, and to remind her fellow commissioners that she attended a huge symposium held by the Menlo Park Fire Department and spent six hours learning about drones and hearing presentations by leaders in the field and that she has more than a passing familiarity with this issue and she continues to read up on the subject.

 

There was no public comment.

 

7. COMMISSION REPORT [Discussion]

Report on Commission activities since last meeting on April 11, 2018

 

Vice President Nakajo gave an update on his meeting with the Guardians of the City he attended on April 14, 2018.  He stated that they discussed issues involving the storing and towing of the antique apparatus and the issues with the surplus dollars from the 150th Department Anniversary festivities.  They discussed the MOU status between the Department and GOTC, insurance issues, financial issues and long-term plans for the apparatus.  He concluded by stating there is still work to be done to resolve the issues at large and he personally has a lot of respect for the GOTC and he made it clear that they looking for solutions together.  Mr. Corso provided some additional information in regards to insurance and financial matters with the GOTC and he is awaiting further information from the GOTC.  He confirmed that the Guardians provided the funding for the transportation from the Academy of Art to Treasure Island. 

 

Commissioner Veronese announced that he would be submitting a resolution for the commission’s approval pertaining to the Peer Support Unit that he drafted as well as a resolution that he circulated to the Chief and Local 798 relating to enhancing the tools for the EMS-6 Unit.  He also commented on an article he read where the state legislator is considering a law currently to expand on the duties of paramedics in California.

 

There was no public comment.

 

8. AGENDA FOR NEXT AND FUTURE FIRE COMMISSION MEETINGS [Discussion]

Discussion regarding agenda for the next and future regular meetings.

 

There was no public comment.

 

9. ADJOURNMENT 12. ADJOURNMENT

 

President Cleaveland adjourned the meeting at 6:46 p.m. in memory of Leonard Stefanelli.