Fire Commission - September 12, 2018

 

 

 

The Video can be viewed by clicking this link:  http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=180&clip_id=31…

 

Vice President Nakajo called the meeting to order at 9:03 a.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 Arrived at 9:03

 

Chief of Department Joanne Hayes-White Present

 

Jeanine Nicholson Deputy Chief --Administration

 

Dan De Cossio Bureau of Fire Prevention

Andy Zanoff EMS

Tony Rivera Support Services

Khai Ali Airport

Joel Sato Training Division

 

Assistant Chief

Brooke Baker Division 2

 

Staff

Mark Corso Deputy Director of Finance

Elaine Walters Chief Financial Officer

Clement Yeh Medical Director

Olivia Scanlon Communications and Outreach

Tony Boone Director of Occupational Environmental Health and Safety

 

 

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 August 28, 2018.

 

Commissioner Hardeman Moved to approve the above meeting Minutes.  Vice President Nakajo 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 August 22, 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 August 22, 2018.  Regarding the budget, she announced that they are nearing the close of the first quarter of the budget year, and are officially in the final stages of closing out last year's budget.  She added that with regards to Division of Training, they are anticipating a bump up academy which is approximately three weeks in length and included 24 H-3 Level 1 EMTs with paramedic licenses that will be advancing to become H-3 Level 2s, and one of the goals is to provide upward opportunity for some members and in addition, there are two H-2 firefighters that were hired that had paramedic licenses that will become fully cross-trained and advance to H-3 Level 3 Firefighter Paramedic.  Chief Hayes-White stated that they are also targeting for October 22nd, for an H-3 Level 1 entry class which are candidates that are EMTs on the H-3 Level 1 eligibility list and will be comprised of a class of 24 and is roughly a six-week academy.  She mentioned that during the last part of this year, the Division of Training will also conduct an officer's training class for lieutenants and captains related to various aspects of their role and more formalized training. Related to the H-2 academy, she announced that they are targeting late January of 2019 for a class of 54, of which 42 will come off the list, and 12 will be coming from the EMS Division.  She did refresh the H-2 list and it was recently adopted on September 10th and reflects candidates who had taken the H-2 test through July 28th of this year.  She added that it is her understanding that there are approximately 2,075 candidates on that eligible list.    In regards to activity since the last meeting on August 23rd, she participated in an HSOC meeting, which is department heads that deal directly with keeping the streets healthy and safe and she asked Assistant Deputy Chief Zanoff to be her designee in the event that she is unable to attend.  She also had the privilege of going out to 22nd and Mission where there was a fire with a fatality a few years ago and they had the Dharma mural unveiling and the person that was selected to do the murals was firefighter Rigel Juratovac. She also attended the Women's Equality Day, led by Mayor London Breed and Assessor Carmen Chu; a Cedar Alley block party with the members of Station 3 and on August 28, 2018, she and the City Administrator met with PG&E to talk about responses to various incidents that they have had and to get updates from them on anything that's pertinent for the city to know about.  She stated that on the August 30, 2018, she and President Cleaveland were part of a press conference that Mayor London Breed held at the Department of Building Inspection on 1660 Mission related to accessory dwelling units and she acknowledged the great work of the Bureau of Fire Prevention under the direction of Fire Marshal DeCossio for all the work that they've put in in this regard.  She mentioned that on September 4, 2018, the Fire Department and the Department of Human Resources met to discuss streamlining the promotional process and how the Department will be notified related to exam development, subject matter expert selection, and so forth.  She touched on other activities she attended including a very good meeting with the Black Firefighters Association, under the new leadership of Captain Sherman Tillman, who is the new president.  

She acknowledged Commissioner Veronese, and Commissioner Covington, on the great work that they continue to do around awareness for PTSD and for attending the stair climb which was very successful.  She also acknowledged the first police/fire mass that she had missed, where Father Green does a great job acknowledging what happened on 9/11/2001, and the police and fire members, active and retired, that had lost their lives during the previous year.  She announced that she will be attending over the next couple of days, the Elements of the Global Climate Action Summit.

 

Commissioner Veronese asked for a quick update on Station 16.  Chief Hayes-White stated that both Station 16 and Station 5 are on delay and the latest that they have heard is that Station 16 was looking at opening in November.  Chief Rivera added that in terms of Fire Station 16, the latest developments are an updated schedule has been submitted to DPW on behalf of the contractor and there was an issue with the fuel and oil delivery system, as Station 16 has a fueling pump for diesel and when it was removed and being replaced, there was a lot of changes in terms of regulations which are controlled by the state of California and they had to incorporate a lot of these changes into the new Station 16 facility.  He added that he believes the latest update is November 8th for a final completion of the station.  With regard to Station 5, Chief Rivera mentioned that the contractor has verbally notified the Department that they feel that they have an approximate four-month delay for the completion of the station and they submitted a schedule which has been refuted by the estimator for DPW and there should be more news on that at the next meeting.  He added that the current estimated date is December 28th and the updated estimated date is April 4th.  There was a brief discussion on the Grant Writer position and the search for a new training facility site. 

 

Commissioner Hardman was glad to see that the Chief was delegating her appearances and functions so she could attend a family wedding.  He stated that he is looking forward to visiting the mural at 22nd and Mission.  He confirmed that there were 2,075 on the current eligible list and candidates stay on that list for 24 months from the time they take and pass the test.

 

Commissioner Covington thanked the Chief for her report and asked for more information about the accessory dwelling units and the nature of the executive directive from the Mayor’s office.  Fire Marshal DeCossio explained that essentially the executive directive puts a timeline on processing ADU units from the time it enters Planning through DBI through Fire.  The Fire Department put a team in place dedicated to handling ADUs and that team consists of a captain, a fire protection engineer, and a fire inspector for the plan review and are dedicated to this role.  They are efficient in their duties, and they've actually cut the backlog in half.  They are committed to that four-month deadline to process the permits.  He added that there are only so many things that are within the Department’s control because the other departments are the starting point and where it has to make its way through before it gets to the Fire Department, but they are dedicated and he believes they will be able to meet those requirements put forth by the Mayor.  Commissioner Covington thought this news was excellent and that the Department needed this for a while and it's especially good for the homeowners who are trying to create more housing.  Fire Marshal DeCossio added that they developed an information sheet for those common challenges with ADU’s with guidelines for equivalencies for single exit exceptions and he was happy to report that it has solved well over half of their problems right from the get-go.  Commissioner Covington confirmed that it was nice that the Black Firefighters Association supplied lunch at the recent meeting with Chief Hayes-White.  Commissioner Covington expressed her concern with a lack of a site for a new training facility, noting that we only have Treasure Island until around 2024 and it is anticipated to take five years to build a new one.  Chief Hayes-White responded that it is a main priority of hers and they are moving aggressively because they are hoping to get funding for a new facility on the 2020 ESER bond and because property is at a real premium, and trying to identify eight acres in 49 square miles, it is a challenge and she is concerned as well.

 

President Cleaveland asked what kind of questions are on the surveys that are sent out to the academy candidates.  Chief Hayes-White responded that typically they consider secondary criteria, such as if they speak a second language if they have fire service or EMS experience, level of education, including AA or undergraduate degree, and volunteer work experience.  President Cleaveland asked for a copy of the draft job description of the grant writer position.  He confirmed with Chief Rivera that a preliminary cost for a new training facility is 110 million dollars.

 

Vice President Nakajo thanked the Chief for her report and confirmed that he received the breakdown of members from Station 49 that have attended the H-2 academy and asked for a further breakdown of sex and ethnic groups.

 

There was no public comment.

 

REPORT FROM DEPUTY CHIEF OF OPERATIONS, MARK GONZALES

Report on overall field operations, including greater alarm fires, Emergency Medical Services, Bureau of Fire Prevention & Investigation, and Airport Division.

 

Chief Hayes-White reported on activities for the month of August, as Chief Gonzales was out ill.  Chief Hayes-White announced that there were no greater alarms during the reporting period.  She reported on some of the highlights, including greater alarms, community events, and mutual aid requests and responses which included deployments to the Mendocino complex fire, Mill Creek fire, and Taskforce 3 to hurricane Irene in Hawaii.  She touched on social media responses, the changing environment at Mission Bay and other noteworthy events including participating in the National Night Out event with law enforcement partners.  With regards to the Ambulance Deployment Facility, the construction of the new Station was award to Amaroso Construction.  She covered EMS and their statistics and monthly call volume which shows ambulances on scene to a Code 3 life-threatening emergency 90 percent of the time within 10 minutes which is outstanding.  She touched on the Division of Fire Prevention and Investigation and the Airport Division. 

 

Commissioner Veronese thanked the Chief for the report and stated he really appreciates her pointing out certain things in the report that shows the Department evolving in a good direction.  He wanted to know if the Department was learning from the information they are currently capturing from calls for service where there is no home address.  Chief Hayes-White responded that it is something they will review and report on at a future meeting.  Commissioner Veronese asked for clarification on the 9-1-1 EMS-6 calls.  Chief Zanoff explained how the statistics were utilized and that they are now reporting the top 20 frequent callers and there was a definite reduction in those calls in the month of August which means that EMS-6 is making an impact on the frequent users of the 9-1-1 system.  With regard to the accessory dwelling units, he asked if at future meetings the department can track the success of the permitting process. 

 

Commissioner Hardeman was happy to hear about the good news with the ambulance response times given the torn up streets, traffic and natural geography with density and added it’s very commendable.  He also mentioned on his recent trip when talking to people, they all seem to love San Francisco but commented on the problem with panhandling and the dirty filthy streets.

 

Commissioner Covington thanked Chief Hayes-White for delivering Chief Gonzales' report and confirmed that the Wildland Committee was comprised of internal department members of all ranks and she asked who is on the Wildland Committee.  Assistant Chief Baker stated that there are approximately 10 members, and many of the members are Strike Team Leaders but all members have to have gone through at least the wildland training and that they meet about every other month.  Commissioner Covington added that since it seems there is no longer a “fire season”, it’s year-round, she thinks it might be a good idea to have the Wildland Committee do a presentation at a future Fire Commission meeting.  She asked Chief DeCossio to deliver the message on how dangerous it is to overload surge protectors.  Chief DeCossio responded that many of the City’s structures are older and the infrastructure wasn’t designed to support the type of density we have today, and they don't have a robust electrical distribution within the home, and many people use extension cords.  He added that extension cords are not designed for permanent wiring, they’re designed for temporary wiring and it’s actually a violation in the fire code to use them as permanent wiring.  He stated that the solution is to get a permit and expand upon the existing electrical distribution within the building.  Commissioner Covington suggested getting messages out to the public about this issue as well as the “close your door before you snooze”.  Chief DeCossio added that his Community Outreach Team has a PowerPoint presentation they show when they go to different community groups through the city and that is part of the messaging they get out.  Commissioner Covington noted the high call volume at several of the Stations and confirmed that they do not beef up the stations with more employees at those busier stations as the department has minimum staffing and it’s fixed to the apparatus that reside at the station.

 

President Cleaveland confirmed with Chief Zanoff and Dr. Yeh that a high-frequency caller is defined by a person who contacts 911 four times within 30 days or twice within a twenty-four -hour period.  He suggested that Chief Zanoff includes in his report the top five issues the frequent callers are seeking treatment for. 

 

Commissioner Veronese acknowledged the great work being done by EMS-6 but he thinks other city departments would better serve the population that EMS-6 is responding to.

 

There was no public comment.

 

5. COMMISSION REPORT [Discussion]

Report on Commission activities since last meeting on August 22, 2018.

 

Commissioner Veronese acknowledged the second annual stair climb and thanked the Department for its role in the success of the program through the climbers and especially through Chief Zanoff and Chief Cochrane as well as Chief Nicholson who actually did the climb.  He mentioned that they raised close to $140,000.00 for first responders with PTSD.  President Cleaveland thanked him for his leadership on that issue.  Commissioner Covington also thanked Commissioner Veronese for having the foresight to put together the stair climb and stated it was a very fun event.  Vice President Nakajo also thanked Commissioner Veronese for his leadership at this fundraising event for the Stress Unit.

 

Commissioner Hardeman asked how the drone policy between departments is coming along.

 

Vice President Nakajo reported on the 9/11 events and ceremonies that they attended including the ceremony at Station 7 that was also attended by Mayor Breed and the Police/Fire Mass that was also well attended and where Lt. Stephen Maguire gave a beautiful sermon.  Vice President Nakajo also brought up concerns with the upcoming “retreat” such as being in open session, not being at City Hall or Headquarters, and the subject matter that is up for discussion, which he feels can be covered during a regular commission meeting and also the issues of having to pay a facilitator.  

 

Commissioner Covington responded to Vice President Nakajo’s concerns.  She stated that they need to have a substantive conversation about these two items of the Mayor's policy summit areas which included public safety and housing issues in the City, and that Vice President Nakajo was on the public safety transition team and a lot of things came out of that particular team related to organization and administration, operational matters, financial matters, facilities and equipment, and legislative matters and that his team made recommendations to the mayor in terms of her consideration going forward for the Fire Department.  She added that if they're doing a deep dive after just skimming the surface of this topic, each topic could take an hour if they are doing due diligence as commissioners to have an overview of where they are together as a team of commissioners and as a department, and to have an overview, as well as going into where they are, where they want to be, and how to get there.  She announced that a retreat is a more relaxed setting with more of a round robin, give and take discussion and it’s a place where you put forward your best ideas, your wildest ideas, your hopes and dreams for the department.  She added that there are a lot of different ideas out there that need to be discussed and need to be done together as a team.  She announced that more than that, they need a facilitator because it shouldn't be a hierarchy of the president, they need someone who is not part of this body to keep them moving in a more informal setting and the goal is to help solve the problems and to bring best thoughts on how to deal with some of these issues.  Vice President Nakajo stated that he is not against a retreat and reiterated his concerns.  Commissioner Hardeman also expressed his concerns.  Commissioner Veronese explained his position on what it means to sit on the Fire Commission and the accomplishments he wishes to see through which included to leave the department in a better place than the way he found it.  He added that he supported the call by Commissioner Covington to have a retreat and review the Mayor’s priorities.  Commissioner Covington reiterated her position on having a retreat and her expectations of what will come out of it.

 

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

Discussion regarding agenda for next and future Fire Commission meetings.

 

• Black Firefighters Youth Academy

• Peer Support Resolution

• MOU with GOTC

• Drone Policy update

• Early case resolution

• Wildland Committee Presentation

• Update on Station 5, 16 and the Training Facility

• Update on location of New Moose boat

• Homeless tracing

• Cancer Prevention Foundation update / decontamination/Policy

• Public Service announcements through SFGOV TV

• Outreach/Recruitment update

• Asian Firefighters Association and all Employee Groups Presentation

• Chief’s appraisal

• Strategic Plan update

 

There was no public comment.

 

 

7. ADJOURNMENT

 

President Cleaveland adjourned the meeting at 11:41 a.m. in the memory of retired Firefighter William Disbury.