Fire Commission - October 26, 2016

 

 

The video recording has been at:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=26…

 

President Covington called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM.  

 

1. ROLL CALL

 

Commission President Francee Covington Present  

Commission Vice President Ken Cleaveland Present

Commissioner Stephen Nakajo Present

Commissioner Michael Hardeman Present

 

Chief of Department Joanne Hayes-White Present

 

Mark Gonzales Deputy Chief – Operations

Raemona Williams Deputy Chief – Administration

 

Dan DeCossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Jeff Columbini Division of Training

Shane Francisco Homeland Security

Rudy Castellanos Airport Division

 

Assistant Chiefs

Lorrie Kolos Division 2

Kirk Richardson Division 3

 

Staff

Mark Corso CFO

Olivia Scanlon Communication and Outreach Coordinator

 

2. 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 September 28, 2016

 

Vice President Cleaveland Moved to approve the September 28, 2016 regular meeting Minutes.  Commissioner Hardeman 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

Report on current issues, activities and events within the Department since the Fire Commission meeting of October 12, 2016, including Fiscal Year 2016-2017 budget, academies, 150th Anniversary update, Strategic Plan update, special events, communications and outreach to other government agencies and the public.

 

Chief Hayes-White’s report covered events since the last meeting on September 28, 2016.  With regard to the budget, Chief Hayes-White stated that the Department is projected to be on budget for both revenues and expenditures and they have begun planning for the 17-18 and 18-19 budget process for anticipated budget instructions and City deficit projections to be released by the Mayor’s Budget Office in the early part of December.  She added that they continue to work closely with the Mayor’s Office for the Department’s portion of the upcoming five-year financial plan for the City.  She mentioned that the 120th academy class is in their final weeks and 51 members will graduate on November 4, 2016, 10:00 a.m. at USF.  The 121st academy class is scheduled to start on November 28, 2016 with 54 recruits, 42 off the NTN list and 12 from Station 49.  Chief Hayes-White announced that the H-8 per diem paramedic academy is nearing completion, and they have completed their classroom training and are now in field training and she acknowledged the great job that the Division of Training continues to do under the leadership of Chief Columbini.

 

Chief Hayes-White touched on the 150th Anniversary Events, including the upcoming Film Festival which President Covington has been intimately involved with, as well as the upcoming premier of the Gartland Fire on November 15th and the large events planned for December 3, 2016 which is the actual 150th birthday of the Department.  She also described the commissioning of the new fireboat and acknowledged the Port for their partnership as well as the San Francisco Giants and how grateful she was that Senator Feinstein and Mayor Lee were able to attend that event.

 

Chief Hayes-White discussed the Strategic Plan, which is currently going through updates that reflect the concerns and input from the members of the Planning Committee and she anticipates a draft document for the Commissions review sometime in the near future.  Chief Hayes-White touched on activities and events for the month, including the historic moment where Commissioner Nakajo received the Foreign Minister’s accommodation from the Consul General of Japan as well as his retirement fundraiser luncheon from Kimochi, the events planned for Fire Prevention Week, the NERT Drill and her trip to Sacramento to attend the California Firefighters Memorial in which 29 members of California fire departments were added to the memorial wall, including five from the SFFD, Firefighter Lauifi Seumaala, Firefighter/Paramedic Richard Faust, Firefighter David Amituanai, Firefighter Clyde Watarai and Lieutenant John Murphy.  She mentioned that Adam Wood from Local 798 was there as well to visit with the families and show his support.  She had the honor of giving opening remarks at BOMA’s Emergency Preparedness seminar and she also had the privilege of attending the 100th anniversary of the Board of Supervisors event.

 

Chief Hayes-White talked about the special presentation that Mayor Lee hosted honoring the rescue personnel that worked on October 8th during Fleet Week that recued the 30 people that fell into the water when their boat capsized and eventually sank.  She mentioned that she, along with the Police Chief and a few other members from city agencies spoke to 3rd Graders at Brett Harte Elementary School about the importance of preparing in the event of an emergency.  She explained the event she was invited to participate in as part of the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership San Francisco program where she gave an overview of achievement and challenges facing the Department.  She acknowledged Firefighter Mary Minogue-Reidy, a member of the United Fire Service Women and the good work she put in to have a historical photo shoot with active, retired, civilian and uniformed women at Crissy Field with the Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop, which was well attended.  She concluded her report by requesting President Covington adjourn the meeting in memory of Fire Inspector Manuel Pegeuros who served the department with great pride since 1985.

 

There was no public comment.

 

Commissioner Hardeman thanked Chief Hayes-White for her detailed report.  He stated the commissioning of the fireboat was a great day and he mentioned that he is very grateful of Senator Feinstein and was glad that she got to christen the ship.  He acknowledged Carl Nolte of the Chronicle and thanked Dennis Kennedy for the photos he sent.  He complimented Commissioner Nakajo for the nice retirement lunch and thanked the Command staff for attending.  He mentioned that he looks forward to traveling to Sacramento to visit the Firefighter Memorial.  He concluded by recognizing Werner Lewin, who was very active in the hotel industry who recently passed away.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Chief Hayes-White for her report.  He asked Chief Hayes-White if she thinks there will be significant changes in the 17-18 budget from this year’s budget.  Chief Hayes-White answered that they want to build upon the current budget and revisit the priority list and perhaps add to it and move it around a bit and reconvene with the Budget Committee once they get the budget instructions from the Mayor’s Budget Office and they see what the financial picture looks like for the city as a whole.  Vice President Cleaveland acknowledged it was a good idea that she brought together a collaboration on the budgeting process the last couple of years and he would love to see that continued, as it gives the committee member an idea of what is in the budget for them and their stations or their particular expertise and assignments.  He congratulated Chief Hayes-White and Olivia Scanlon for putting on the fireboat commissioning event and stated they did a terrific job.  He was impressed by the new fireboat, now called the St. Francis and thinks it is a state-of-the-art wonderful addition to the protection of the City.  Vice President Cleaveland also commended Commissioner Nakajo on his 40 plus years building an organization in Japantown and mentioned what a wonderful mentor he was to him as a new Commissioner as well as the hundreds of people he mentored over his career.  He thanked Chief Francisco for participating with the Building Owners Association at their annual emergency preparedness seminar.

 

Commissioner Nakajo echoed the remarks made about the fireboat commissioning and was glad that Senator Diane Feinstein was there to christen the boat and was impressed by the tremendous amount of former and current members of the department.  He thanked everyone from the Department that attended his recognition ceremony at the Consul General’s residence for the Foreign Minister’s commendation as well as his retirement luncheon on October 15, 2016.  He asked Chief Hayes-White if the strategic plan incorporates some of the recommendations outlined in the Civil Grand Jury Report.  Chief Hayes-White responded that it indirectly addresses some of the issues or challenges facing the Department.  Commissioner Nakajo asked Mr. Corso if there was planning projections of years from the Strategic Plan.  Mr. Corso answered that they are looking at five years for the plan. 

 

President Covington thanked the Chief or her report and stated how proud she was of Commissioner Nakajo for his two events that were attended by hundreds of people, including many representatives from City and State Government.  President Covington asked Chief Hayes-White if she had a subcommittee for succession planning for the strategic plan.  Director Corso responded that one of the items that has come up during the early development of the overall Strategic Plan is to develop a succession plan, but specific committee members have not been identified.  He added that once the strategic plan is finalized, it is on his radar for development.  The succession plan would be a completely separate document but the need for it has been identified in the current strategic plan.  She also mentioned that the Chief of the Department is the only person in the City and County of San Francisco that has an official residence and she mentioned that as they go forward with the succession plan, she would like them to include how they are going to get the official residence up to snuff.  President Covington also remarked what a wonderful day and event it was for the commissioning of the fireboat and thanked everyone involved, particularly Ms. Scanlon.  She announced that SFGOV TV, through the fine work of Jack Chen, the fireboat commissioning can be found at the Mayor’s Press Events page.  President Covington commented that she read through the California Firefighters Memorial book and mentioned that four out of the five SFFD members died of job-related cancer and the other passed away from a job-related heart attack and she wants members of the public to understand what a serious profession firefighting is, even if you retire, there can be lingering health concerns.  She plans to make a special trip to Sacramento to see the Memorial.  President Covington announced that next year will be the 30th year that women came into the San Francisco Fire Department and she is proud of the fact that the SFFD has so many women firefighters, compared to the New York Fire Department that has less than one percent of women in their department.

 

REPORT FROM ADMINISTRATION

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

 

Chief Williams’ report covered the month of October 2016.  Chief Williams stated that the Assignment Office is currently accepting annual vacancy bids for suppression members and the list should be released during the week.  The H-30 eligible list was adopted and the promotion and assignment changes reflecting the H-30 captains’ eligible list will also come out during the week.  She touched on Homeland Security, including Fleet Week events, various training events, and the Red Bull Standing Paddle Board Water Race.  Chief Williams also reminded everyone to stay ever vigilant and if you see something, say something.  With regards to the Investigative Services Bureau, they continued to conduct candidate background checks and will continue to do so for the upcoming academies.  In addition, they continue to conduct random post-accident drug and alcohol testing and at this time, all results have been negative.  She mentioned that the department physician has been administering candidate promotional and probationary physicals for the department, as well as return to work and work related injury exams.  She touched on Support Services, including construction updates on Pump Station 1 and Station 16 and announced that the construction project at Station 5 has been pushed back until spring of 2017 due to renegotiating the contracts between the general manger, general contractor and the subcontractor.  Chief Williams stated they are working closely with the Port on Pier 26 for relocating the fireboats during the construction of Station 35 and that project should be complete by the end of November.  She announced that under Fleet Management, nine ambulances have been ordered, two have been delivered and are being outfitted at the radio ship and 4 more should be received by the end of November, eight engines have been ordered and the specs have been completed.  The contractor was awarded to Ferreira, four will be delivered within a year and four more to be delivered a couple of months later.  She added that two rescue squads have been received and are currently being outfitted and should be in the field in the next couple of weeks.  With regards to the two aerial trucks that have been ordered, the specs are still being worked on and once finalized, approved with OCA, they will go out to bid.  She also announced that they are still awaiting the arrival of eight Gleason Valves so that they can put Hose Tender 18 in service.

 

Chief Williams touched on EMS, including that staff is currently conducting required paramedic and EMT training, as well as preparing for the upcoming academies.  She reported that the construction for the transit training prop is complete and includes props from Muni and BART which have been graciously donated and it is anticipated that this specialized training will be given in the spring of 2017.  She mentioned that NERT held their city wide drill on October 15, 2016 and was very well attended.  Chief Williams concluded here report by describing the company based training of fire ground operations with live burn training, an update on the H-8 per diem academy and announcing that the 120th recruit academy will have 51 recruits graduating on November 4, 2016 at USF.

 

Chief Hayes-White added that she was happy to announce the conditional promotions of eight captains and nine rescue captains within the last few days and in additional, eight acting captains and acknowledged Jesusa Bushong of HR for all her hard work to get it done.

 

Vice President Cleaveland thanked Chief Hayes-White and Chief Williams for their comprehensive reports.  He inquired about the work-related injuries that were reported last month.  Chief Hayes-White explained that they run the gamut, some could be as simple as a cut finger that might happen in the kitchen to something as recent as the four injuries from the fire this week where three were treated and released on scene and one was transported to the hospital.  The department physician has a whole host of statistics in terms of average time off the job.  Vice President Cleaveland asked if the members are regularly trained on how to prevent work-related injuries.  Chief Williams explained that on a monthly basis they have a mandatory drill, the IIPP which looks at different hazards throughout the station and different safety procedures to follow as far as preventing injuries.  Vice President Cleaveland confirmed that the training for H-8’s is two weeks in the class room, and depending on schedules, anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks of field preceptor training.

 

Commissioner Nakajo thanked Chief Williams for her report and asked if he could get a better description of what the two new rescue squads do.  He asked Chief Hayes-White if she was planning a ceremony for the recent promotions and Chief Hayes-White stated that they try and do that every other year.

 

Commissioner Hardeman asked if the H-8’s were compensated during their training.  Chief Hayes-White stated that they are paid during training.  He also asked if the new boat that the Airport is getting would have to come to the Commission for approval.  Chief Hayes-White explained that it would be paid for by the airport if it’s an airport asset upon the recommendation of the assistant deputy Chief, Chief Castellanos, making a recommendation to the Deputy Chief and herself, and they would bring it to the commission for support so that they would be able to then let the airport administration and commission know that collectively they see a need for it.  Commissioner Hardeman concluded by acknowledging and thanking the wonderful firefighters that do their job every day as well as the EMT’s and Paramedics.

 

There was no public comment.

 

5. REVIEW OF THE HARASSMENT PREVENTION POLICY [Discussion]

Discussion and review of the harassment prevention policy.

 

President Covington continued this item to November 9, 2016 meeting.

 

There was no public comment.

 

6. UPDATE ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY FILM FESTIVAL [Discussion]

Update from President Covington on the 150 Anniversary Film Festival, scheduled for November 5th and 6th 2016 at the San Francisco Main Library.

 

President Covington gave an update on the film festival planning and mentioned it is going extremely well.  She invited Mr. Jesus Mora, the Departments IT Supervisor who explained in detail how to register to get tickets for the event from the 150th Anniversary Website.  President Covington gave background information on the film festival program and encouraged everyone to come out and take part in in the festivities.  Chief Hayes-White thanked President Covington and acknowledged her efforts and support all throughout the 150th year and before that for actively being involved in the committee and planning the film festival.

 

There was no public comment.

 

7. AGENDA FOR NEXT FIRE COMMISSION MEETING [Discussion]

Discussion regarding agenda for the November 9, 2016 regular meeting.

 

• Harassment Prevention Policy

• New Fireboat Discussions

• H-23 update

• Controlled substance policy

• Joint task force with DBI

 

12. ADJOURNMENT

 

Vice President Cleaveland Moved to adjourn the meeting.  Commissioner Hardeman Seconded.

 

President Covington adjourned the meeting in the memory of Fire Safety Inspector Manuel Pegeuros and Retired Assistant Chief Ray Landi at 6:29 p.m.