Here’s the latest news from San Francisco Firefighters Local 798…
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The SFFD has six Engines, two SUVs, & 24 personnel deployed to the Dixie and Monument Fires. Local 798 thanks all of the men and women who dedicate themselves to this strenuous work.
California's Dixie Fire threatens homes as more blazes burn across West
Thousands of homes in Northern California remain threatened by the nation's largest wildfire as unstable weather creates a high danger of new blazes erupting across the West. Weekend thunderstorms across the northern Sierra didn't produce much rain, instead whipping up winds and unleashing lightning strikes that bedeviled the more than 6,000 firefighters trying to contain the month-old Dixie Fire amid temperatures forecast to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).
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Wildfires don’t only destroy land and towns — they can also ruin firefighters’ health
When Tony Stefani sees the hellscape images of firefighters battling drought-driven blazes in California and elsewhere, he sees more than the strain and exhaustion. He sees a grave and growing threat to the long-term health of brave public servants. Stefani is a firefighter himself, a veteran of San Francisco Fire Station 1, among the busiest fire precincts in the United States. In 2001, at 49 and in peak physical condition, he was diagnosed as having transitional cell cancer in his kidney. His surgeon, Marshall Stoller of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), immediately suspected that chemical exposure from the burning contents of modern buildings was to blame. Since then, Stefani has made it his mission to alert firefighters to the risks they face, and push for their safety, through the organization he founded: the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation.
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California Fire Map & Tracker
An interactive map of wildfires burning across the Bay Area and California. Read up on what you need to know about California fire season in 2021.
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Firefighters cycling their way across the U.S. to commemorate 9/11 make stop in Scottsdale
More than a dozen active and retired firefighters are making their way from Los Angeles to New York to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11. On Friday, the group stopped in Scottsdale after completing about 450 miles of their roughly 3,100-mile journey. In total, 15 active and retired firefighters are riding their bikes on the Fire Velo Ride for America to New York City. The group arrived in Scottsdale Friday morning from Wickenburg. They’ll leave Saturday to go to Payson before continuing along I-40 to the east coast. The cyclists are riding about 3,100 miles, averaging about 90 to 95 miles a day. “Could be anywhere from four to six hours, six to eight hours, depending,” cyclist and retired Deputy Chief from San Francisco Fire Department, Gary Massetani said. “If you throw a couple of flats in there add another hour.”
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Fire Hits Ken Jewelry On 20th Street
Firefighters and police officers responded to an electrical fire at Ken Jewelry at 3525 20th St at 6:54 p.m. Wednesday evening, according to Mike Shugars, a sergeant on site. No one was injured, and the fire on the ground floor of the three-story building appeared to be under control by 7:30 p.m. About five fire trucks with more than a dozen firefighters and multiple police cars responded, and the site was blocked off from Mission to Lexington streets. Windows were smashed and smoke was still coming from Ken Jewelry at 7:20 p.m. By then, firefighters at the scene were hauling out objects such as a door and jewelry damaged in the fire. Residents living in the two stories above the jewelry store had been evacuated and waited outside the building.
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Fire In Clay Street apartment building
The San Francisco Fire Department tweeted about 1:40 p.m. Saturday that firefighters were battling a blaze in an apartment building in the 1200 block of Clay Street near Jones Street, and medics from the department were treating one victim who had been rescued. The department tweeted at 1:55 p.m. that the fire was under control and being investigated, and it was "unknown" how many people the fire had displaced.
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Coast Guard, San Francisco Paramedics Rescue Accidentally Poisoned Woman from Sailboat
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew worked with San Francisco Fire personnel early Tuesday to medevac an accidentally poisoned woman from a sailboat almost 400 miles off the coast of Bodega Bay. At around 1:45 p.m. Monday, the Eleventh Coast Guard District Command Center received a notification via satellite from the captain of the sailboat Cibola, reporting a 23-year-old woman who had accidently ingested antifreeze. The sailboat was approximately 380 miles west of Bodega Bay. Due to the distance off shore and range limitations of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco’s MH-65 Dolphin helicopters, Coast Guard officials deployed a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from San Diego to the San Francisco air station. Officials additionally diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) to serve as a refueling platform for the Jayhawk helicopter. The Jayhawk helicopter arrived at Air Station San Francisco at around 9 p.m. Monday. After refueling and crew change, a San Francisco Fire Department paramedic boarded before the helicopter departed on the mission.
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Pedestrian collapses in crosswalk at Mission and 21st streets
A pedestrian appeared to suffer a seizure and collapsed on the ground while walking in the crosswalk at 21st and Mission streets a little after 4 p.m. on Tuesday, eyewitnesses said. Three or four passersby noticed and immediately surrounded the man, who appeared unconscious, eyewitnesses said. A crowd surrounded him to help direct traffic, said Kelsey, a passerby who parked on 21st Street and saw the incident in her rearview mirror. “He was walking — all we saw him hit the floor, and then he started to seizure, and then he had hit his face falling down,” Kelsey said. The man’s face was covered in blood. Paramedics arrived within minutes and attended to the man. At first, he appeared unconscious, but he soon regained consciousness and was transferred into an ambulance while wearing a neck brace.
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Man rescued by Coast Guard after his sailboat tipped over in South Beach Marina
The Coast Guard rescued a man Tuesday afternoon after a 15-foot sailboat capsized near South Beach Marina. The distressed mariner contacted the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders via VHF-FM channel 16, requesting assistance near South Beach Marina. According to officials, the watchstanders later directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station San Francisco 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew and a San Francisco Fire Department Marine 3 crew at approximately 4:35 p.m. Both boat crews arrived on scene at 4:45 p.m. and located the overturned sailboat with one person clinging to the hull.
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Local 798 Presents “Road to Recovery: Invest in Your Safety”
Through all of the challenges of 2020, our San Francisco Firefighters and Paramedics continued to go above and beyond the call of duty to provide lifesaving service under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances imaginable. As San Francisco continues to recover, it is critical that we secure adequate funding to support:
• An increase in staffing levels of SFFD Firefighters, Paramedics, EMTs, and administrative personnel.
• The replacement of our aging fleet of ambulances and fire apparatus.
• The lifesaving Disaster Preparedness projects and programs of the SFFD.
Day in and day out, SFFD Firefighters are on the frontlines working to carry out City-led initiatives, including Community Paramedicine programs such as the Street Crisis Response Team and EMS-6, in order to keep our city safe. We need continued support and investment in our Department so we can achieve our mutual goals.
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California COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker
California will adopt an age-based system to vaccinate residents and turn over its distribution to the health insurance company Blue Shield in an effort to speed up what has been among the slowest vaccination rollouts in the country. Meanwhile, the discovery of new variants that may spread more easily, including a mutation that took hold in the Bay Area in December, makes the rollout even more urgent to fix. San Francisco has said it wants to vaccinate all eligible residents by June; at the same time, questions have arisen over why people from out of town can get vaccinated there. Here's the latest on when and where you will be able to get a vaccine across the Bay Area. If you are scheduled for an appointment, here's what to do before and after getting the shot.
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Wildfire smoke linked to thousands of coronavirus cases on West Coast
The presence of wildfire smoke last year during the pandemic may have been responsible for at least 19,000 additional coronavirus cases on the West Coast, and 700 subsequent deaths, a new study shows. The study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, offers the most detailed accounting yet of how the devastating 2020 wildfire season is believed to have amplified the coronavirus outbreak. It traces increases in infections to periods of smoke in more than 50 counties in California, Oregon and Washington.
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SF Fire Cycling Team Raises Funds for SFFCPF
Thank you to the SF Fire Cycling Team for their generous donation to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. We appreciate their dedication to such an important cause.
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Fire Velo Kicks Off SF to LA Ride
On August 15th, Fire Velo kicked off their ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise money for the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. We appreciate all that they do to support and represent our members. Thank you!
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Retired SF Firefighter Obituary: Roldan F. Vigil
Roldan F. Vigil, a resident of Redwood City, California, passed away on August 11, 2021. Roldan was born on March 18, 1932, to Louis and Adela Vigil in Durango, Colorado and grew up in Durango, and Price, Utah and San Francisco, California. His love for Durango, Price and San Francisco was a constant throughout his life. Roldan served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955 and was assigned as a Storekeeper on the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea. While serving aboard ship he organized the ship’s band and played at various functions on and off the ship at the request of the Commanding Officer. He formed strong bonds with his shipmates that he maintained through his 80s. He was very proud of his military service. Settling down in San Francisco after his time in the Navy, Roldan joined the San Francisco Police Department. It was during this time he met his future wife Thelma Andreini. Roldan and Thelma married and had three children - Lori, David and Kevin. He eventually became a firefighter with the San Francisco Fire Department in 1964. Roldan loved his career as a firefighter, and was a beloved prankster at 32 Engine for decades.
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Remembering Our Fallen Brothers & Sisters |
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William Delucchi (Ret.)
Deceased: 8-14-21
Rank: H-2
James Scott (Ret.)
Deceased: 8-12-21
Rank: H-10
Roldan F. Vigil (Ret.)
Deceased: 8-10-21
Rank: H-2
Roger "Don" Verant (Ret.)
Deceased: 7-30-21
Rank: H-10
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William Downing (Ret.)
Deceased: 7-3-21
Rank: H-20
George Bullwinkel (Ret.)
Deceased: 6-12-21
Rank: H-2
Peter Cornyn (Ret.)
Deceased: 6-9-21
Rank: H-30
Christopher Yock (Active)
Deceased: 6-8-21
Rank: H-2
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Al Wirdzek (Ret.)
Deceased: 6-7-21
Rank: H-4
William McCarthy (Ret.)
Deceased: 5-30-21
Rank: H-2
James Bogue (Ret.)
Deceased: 5-25-21
Rank: H-2
Hugh Smith (Ret.)
Deceased: 5-23-21
Rank: H-2
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Local 798 Presents “Road to Recovery: Invest in Your Safety”
San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 is honored to present “Road to Recovery: Invest in Your Safety.” 2020 was an unprecedented year that was dominated by a global pandemic forcing nationwide shutdowns, unimaginable suffering, and loss of human lives. Through it all, the nearly 1,700 Firefighters, Paramedics, and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) of the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) went above and beyond the call of duty to provide lifesaving service under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances in recent history. COVID-19 impacted every aspect of our lives, and it highlighted the critical need to maintain a diverse and professional fire department that is fully staffed with adequate resources to protect the people of our City during times of crisis. This publication illustrates the critical needs of our brave Firefighters and Paramedics. Click HERE to view the publication.
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About Local 798
Local 798 is the labor organization of the proud men and women that serve as Firefighters and emergency medical responders protecting San Francisco. The members of the San Francisco Fire Department rely on Local 798 to focus on the wellbeing and safety of those that protect the lives of others. For more information, visit www.sffdlocal798.org.
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