Fire Commission - February 26, 2020

FIRE COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING

MINUTES

Wednesday, February 26, 2020 – 5:00 p.m. 

City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 400, San Francisco, California, 94102

 

 

The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  https://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=3…

 

President Covington called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m.

 

 

Commission President Francee Covington Present

Commission Vice President Katherine Feinstein Present

Commissioner Stephen Nakajo Present

Commissioner Ken Cleaveland Present

Commissioner Tony Rodriguez Present

 

 

Victor Wyrsch Deputy Chief -- Operations

Jose Velo Deputy Chief --Administration

 

Sandy Tong EMS

Dan DeCossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Michael Cochrane Homeland Security

Khai Ali Airport Division

Dawn DeWitt Support Services

Joel Sato Training Division

 

Assistant Chiefs

Brooke Baker Division 2

Bob Postel Division 3

 

Staff

Mark Corso Deputy Director of Finance

Olivia Scanlon Communications and Outreach

 

2. PUBLIC COMMENT

 

There was no public comment.

 

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

Discussion and possible action to approve meeting minutes.

 

• Minutes from Regular Meeting on February 12, 2020

 

Commissioner Cleaveland Moved to approve the above meeting Minutes.  Vice President Feinstein Seconded.  Motion to approve the above Minutes was.

 

There was no public comment.

 

 

4. PRESENTATION FROM SAN FRANCISCO FIRE IN SAFETY EDUCATION [Discussion]

Presentation by Firefighter DeWayne Eckerdt, member of SFFISE (San Francisco Firefighters in Safety Education), in conjunction with the SFFD and the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF), a program providing important safety information to school children in San Francisco 

 

Lt. DeWayne Eckerdt gave an overview of the SFFISE program and the Alisa Ann Rush Burn Foundation.  Regarding the SFFISE program, he mentioned that it's essentially a program that delivers a 30-minute presentation from local firefighters to local elementary school-aged children covering topics of fire safety and burn prevention.  He added that it teaches kids seven key points for K-through 3fd grade, and nine key points for 4th, 5th and 6th graders and it’s a collaboration between the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation and the San Francisco Fire Department.  He introduced Scott Wertz, who works for the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation, Firefighter Patrick Reyes and head intern, Elliot Reynolds.  He explained that they have 44 prop boxes housed at all fire stations in the city and 44 volunteers that present in schools across the city in every neighborhood in San Francisco.    He touched on some key points that they teach, including Stop, Drop and Roll, stay low in smoke, cool a burn, how to dial 9-1-1, high-five a firefighter and the consequences of playing with matches.  He added that the program is very successful and that the students are bringing the information home to their families.    In 2015, the San Francisco Unified School District mandated that the curriculum be taught in all the elementary schools in San Francisco.  Firefighter Reyes, Elliot Reynolds, and Scott Wertz spoke about their roles in the two programs.

 

Chief Nicolson thanked them for the work they do, and she told them that not only are the gold standard for the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation but also the gold standard for the Department. 

 

Commissioner Cleaveland echoed the chief’s comments and stated they are doing terrific work that serves the citizens of the City in a big way by educating their children on fire safety.  He confirmed that the prop boxes contain the 12 items that relate to each key point in their presentation to the students and it gives the kids a visual representation of what they are talking about as well as keeps the presenters on track.  He gave an example of laying out a smoke detector and asking the students “who here, by a show of quiet hands, has seen one of these before?”  Commissioner Cleaveland also suggested putting a video of the presentation on SFGOV TV.  He also confirmed that they teach the students not to put ice on burns because it can stick to burned skin and pull it off.

 

Commissioner Nakajo confirmed that the program was started in 2010 and that Scott Wertz is the Northern California Regional Manager and his initial interaction with the foundation was as a survivor when he was burned in 2013 and was greeted by the foundation while still in the hospital.  He also confirmed that the 30-minute script has been written specifically based on the attention span for elementary school kids and that they educate 7,000 to 15,00 students every year.

 

Commissioner Rodriguez commended the group on their time and dedication, and he announced that his Union, Local 43, does a charitable golf tournament to raise funds for the Alisa Ann Ruch Foundation.  He added that he also agrees that prevention is at the heart of everything.  He confirmed that the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation was started because a little girl, Alisa Ann, was caught in a backyard barbecue fire and didn’t survive because she just ran around whereas her brother survived because he was tacked and brought to the ground and rolled, and that is where Stop, Drop and Roll was born.

 

Vice President Feinstein reiterated what her fellow commissioners said as well as what a great program it is.  She was also surprised to hear that you are not supposed to put ice on a burn and agreed that besides SFGOV TV, the video should also go on YouTube.

 

President Covington thanked them for their presentation and reminded them that when Andrea Evans was president of the Commission along with members of the school board, they were the ones who pushed to get this program in all of the schools.  She also confirmed that if any school wants the program, they should contact the Burn Foundation directly.  She also confirmed that they Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation sponsors an annual relay.

 

There was no public comment.

 

5. CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT’S REPORT [Discussion]

REPORT FROM CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT, JEANINE NICHOLSON

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting on February 12, 2020, including budget, academies, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.

 

Chief Nicholson’s report covered events and activities since the last meeting.  She mentioned that they completed the physician interviews and forwarded names to the Commission for selection.  She attended many meetings, including with the Office of Racial Equity, Labor Management, in-house budget prep meetings, Mayor's monthly Department head meeting where the focus was on the Coronavirus and where the city declared a state of emergency not because there are additional cases in the city but so that other departments can have flexibility, whether it’s recalling disaster service workers or having people do things that they would otherwise maybe not normally do in their position and work hours they wouldn’t normally work, as well as expedite contracts.  She also attended a city-wide leadership development panel with Shireen McSpadden and Grant Colfax from DPH and the Department of Aging and Disability, a capital budge discussion meeting, and a meeting with the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury to discuss recruitment and retainment of female firefighters.  She met with DPH regarding Whole Person Care, which is something that has come out of that department for dealing with really challenged folks on the streets and the Department is collaborating with them on that and EMS-6 as it is the best model for them to use, so she is advocating for more resources for that.  She mentioned that with the retirement of Father Green in June, they are putting together a chaplaincy program to find a replacement.

 

Commissioner Cleaveland thanked the Chief for her comprehensive and brief report and asked her to elaborate on the EMS-6 model being pulled in a different direction.  Chief Nicholson explained that the EMS-6 program has been a very impactful and effective program in terms of getting support and services for folks that call 9-1-1- the most and who have the most challenging mental and physical illnesses and many of the city departments have seen how effective it is and Whole Person Care, which is a program out of DPH and HSS and has a whole other list of folks that they are targeting and the SFFD has been asked to help with that as well but will need more resources in order to staff up the SFFD’s EMS-6 program.

 

President Covington asked for more information on the Office of Racial Equality and the Chief responded that she would get it to her.  She also thanked the Chief for her explanation of the Mayor's state of emergency declaration. 

 

There was no public comment.

 

REPORT FROM ADMINISTRATION, DEPUTY CHIEF JOSE VELO

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

 

Chief Velo’s report covered the Month of January. He highlighted some of the incidents contained in the attached comprehensive reports.  https://sf-fire.org/sites/default/files/COMMISSION/Documents/jan%20admi…

 

He touched on the Training Division which will graduate 48 recruits at the 126 Academy on Friday, which is the largest in the history of the Fire Department.  He mentioned that the DOT received wildland training, Fire Control 3B, and active shooter training as well as in-service training.  He touched on NERT, the Health, Safety and Wellness Division where they hosted a cancer cohort study.  He stated that they will be hosting a critical incident response teams’ class next month which is supported by Commissioner Veronese's foundation as well as hosting a suicide prevention class.  He announced that the MOU with the SPCA has been signed so stations will now have regular visits from therapy dogs.

 

Regarding Support Services, he stated that construction for the barge for floating station 35 has started and last month they closed 484 facility requests and they continue to work on generators.  He mentioned that Lt. Baxter continues efforts of recruitment with career info sessions and he thanked President Covington and Commissioner Nakajo for attending the Chinese New Year’s activities.

 

Commissioner Cleaveland confirmed that LISTOS is a state-wide program funded by the Office of the Governor and is focused on the Spanish community and they are taught some of the skills that are taught through NERT and they offer the classes several times a month  He also confirmed that the Suicide Prevention class will be offered to members of the Department.  He confirmed that Station 49 is scheduled to be completed by December of 2020. 

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked him for his comprehensive report and commented on the folks who contributed to it, including Chief Sato, Nicholas Payne, Chief Ali, Chief Parks, Anthony Boone, Captain Cavallini, Captain Neuneker and Chief DeWitt.  He asked Chief Ali if she could give an update on any health issues at the airport about the new virus.  Chief Ali stated as far as the airport and receiving visitors, they have discontinued all mainland flights to China and the CDC are the ones that are handling the passengers as they arrive and are being checked with a thermal scan as far as whether or not they have a temperature.

 

Commissioner Rodriguez thanked Chief Velo for his report and asked in terms of cancer, what types of equipment are they looking at.  Chief Velo responded that the fire service is very concerned of cancer and the Department is in the front lines of studies through their Cancer Prevention Foundation and last year they started a decon policy to make sure they wash turnouts and they are very aggressive in what they are doing and they are consistently looking at new equipment to protect the members.

 

President Covington thanked him for his report and asked if she could get a copy of the video, Three Points of Contact.  She also confirmed that they have a good supply of vehicles that get donated from Auto Return to practice extrication exercises.  She asked Chief Velo if he could find out how many job corps students have entered the fire academy.

 

There was no public comment.

 

6. COMMISSION REPORT [Discussion]

Report on Commission activities since last meeting on February 12, 2020.

 

Commissioner Rodriguez stated that he had a ride-along out of station 5 and was able to observe a fire at 4th and Fulton and he thanked Chief Postel who stood with him the whole time and explained what everyone was doing.  He stated he was very impressed, and it was surely a learning process.

 

Commissioner Nakajo announced that he has been working with the Black Firefighters Union, with the program that they are trying to create in terms of a mentorship program for youth called Opportunities for All.

 

Commissioner Cleaveland reported that they had interviews with candidates for the physician’s position for the Department and those discussions will continue in closed session later this evening, and Dr. Yeh, Chief Velo, Chief Nicholson and himself were involved in those interviews.  He also mentioned that he participated in a phone conference with members of Guardians of the City and the Department, and a letter should be forthcoming putting together a plan to bind the two organizations in a more proper format as to who is responsible for what.

 

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.

 

• Lt. Baxter to report on outreach efforts

• Closed session settlement.

 

8. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM  9

Public comment on all matters pertaining to Item 9(b) below, including public comment on whether to hold Item 9(b) in closed session.

 

9. POSSIBLE CLOSED SESSION RE. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT [Discussion and Possible Action]

 

a.  Vote on whether to conduct item 9(b) in closed session.  [Action]

 

Commissioner Cleaveland Moved to go into closed session.  Katherine Feinstein Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

 

The room was cleared at 6:33 p.m.  The closed session discussions started at 6:44 p.m.

 

b.  Public Employee Appointment: Supervising Physician Specialist.  This item may be held in closed session pursuant to Government Code § 54957(b) and San Francisco Administrative Code § 67.10(b).

 

c.  If closed session is held, reconvene in open session.

 

Reconvened in open session at 8:21.

 

10. Report any action taken in closed session, as specified in California Government Code § 54957.1(a)(5) and San Francisco Administrative Code § 67.12(b)(4). [Discussion and possible action]

 

11. VOTE TO ELECT WHETHER TO DISCLOSE ANY OR ALL DISCUSSIONS HELD IN CLOSED SESSION, as specified in San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.12(a).  [Action]

 

Commissioner Cleaveland Moved to not disclosed Discussions held in closed session.  Commissioner Rodriguez Seconded.  The motion was unanimous.

 

12. ADJOURNMENT

 

President Covington adjourned the meeting at 8:25 in honor of the two Porterville, California firefighters that were killed in the line of duty, Captain Ramon Figueroa and firefighter Patrick Jones.