Here’s the latest news from San Francisco Firefighters Local 798…
|
|
Local 798 Presents "Invest In Your Safety: Staff Up San Francisco"
San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 is honored to present “Invest in Your Safety: Staff Up San Francisco.” The COVID-19 Pandemic demonstrated the importance of maintaining a fully staffed San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) that is able to respond immediately to emergencies. Under extremely difficult circumstances, San Francisco Firefighters, Paramedics, and Emergency Medical Technicians have continued to save lives and property. Our members provide the highest quality fire protection and pre-hospital emergency medical care possible for the people of our city, but the increasing demands for service combined with a large number of retirements and the lingering impacts of the pandemic have created additional challenges for our Department. As San Francisco leaders plan for the future, in the name of Firefighter and public safety, the SFFD's staffing crisis and disaster preparedness projects must be prioritized. This publication illustrates the critical needs of our brave Firefighters and Paramedics. Click HERE to view the publication.
|
|
4 injured after car careens into Clay St apartment building igniting fire
Four people were injured Friday night when a car careened into a 3-story San Francisco apartment building, severing a gas line and igniting a fire. San Francisco fire officials said crews responded to reports of the crash and blaze in the 1500 block of Clay St. in the city's Nob Hil neighborhood at 9 p.m. Upon arrival, they began to assist the injured and battle the flames. In 27 minutes the fire was contained and prevented from spreading to other buildings in the densely populated neighborhood. The fire was declared under control at 11:12 p.m.
|
|
Fans suffer medical emergencies at Warriors parade
The San Francisco Fire Department told KRON4 that it has responded to multiple medical emergencies during the Golden State Warriors’ championship parade. Fans took to the street on Monday to celebrate the Warriors’ title, which was the franchise’s fourth in the last eight seasons. “Yes, we saw elevated call volume at the parade route,” SF Fire Lieutenant Jonathan Baxter said to KRON4. “We had extra staffing to facilitate responses. No major injuries or issues at this time. Most issues were heat-related.” The medical situations included people suffering heart attacks, heat stroke, physical trauma and falling down.
|
|
Mission encampment fires hit all-time high
Markael Raybon was sleeping in his tent on Shotwell street near 16th the night of May 5 when he started to smell smoke. He didn’t think too much of it, until he started to feel some heat. “Next thing I heard was pew, pew, pew! It was crazy,” he said, recounting the sound of a propane tank exploding. It was the 22nd fire of all sorts on Shotwell between 14th and 17th streets this year. Mission Local in November reported a surge in fires in the neighborhood, driven by uncontrolled barbecues, warming appliances, and propane tanks. And still they continue, according to statistics compiled by the Fire Department — and anecdotes from nearby residents.
|
|
2 Adults, 4 Children Rescued from Structure Fire in San Francisco
Two adults and four children were rescued from a structure fire in San Francisco Wednesday. The incident was reported at 1342 Florida St. around 2:30 p.m. One adult was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The other adult and the four children were evaluated at the scene and "will be OK," the San Francisco Fire Department said. The fire was contained before 3 p.m.
|
|
1 Killed, 1 Hurt in Shooting on Muni Train in San Francisco
One person was killed and another was hurt in a shooting on a Muni train in San Francisco Wednesday morning, police said. The shooting, which police said appeared to be an isolated incident, happened at about 10 a.m. between the Forest Hill and Castro stations. One victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect fled from the train at the Castro station and remains at large, San Francisco police Officer Kathryn Winters said. Police said the suspect is a man seen wearing dark clothes, including a hooded jacket. According to a Muni spokesperson, a gate agent at the Forest Hill station heard gunshots as the train left the station and then called 911. Police rushed to the Castro station – the train's next stop – and found the victims but not the suspect.
|
|
6 injured following SUV and Muni bus crash in SF, police say
Six people have been taken to a hospital following a crash between an SUV and a Muni bus in San Francisco on Saturday. The collision happened just after 11a.m. on Lombard and Fillmore Street, according to Robert Rueca with the San Francisco Police Department. We were first told all six people have non-life threatening injuries, but in a tweet by fire officials around 4:30p.m., two are listed in critical condition, two moderate and two with minor injuries.
|
|
Fire at 20th Street contained, homeowner displaced
The upper unit of a duplex at 20th and Dolores streets caught fire and experienced moderate damage at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. It will be red-tagged, or deemed uninhabitable, and the homeowner will be temporarily displaced, said San Francisco Fire Department Battalion Chief Ethan Jackson. Eli Merritt, who owns the building that caught fire and lives in one of the units, was inside his home when he smelled smoke and heard fire alarms. He called the fire department right away, and firefighters showed up within two or three minutes. The fire was contained quickly. “The San Francisco Fire Department is the most amazing fire department on the planet,” Merritt said. “Everyone is okay.”
|
|
San Francisco Fire rescues man who went over wall at Cliff House
San Francisco Fire crews rescued a man who had gone over a wall at the Cliff House Monday morning, according to authorities. The San Francisco Fire Department Twitter account posted about the ongoing rescue of an adult male who was stuck on a ledge at the Cliff House along headlands north of Ocean Beach, asking people to avoid the area. Fire officials were told that the man was curious and made it down to the ledge, but couldn't get back up on his own, fire department spokesperson Lt. Jonathan Baxter said. Shortly before 8 a.m., the department tweeted video of a fireman with ropes and harnesses was able descend to the cliff where the individual had become stranded on a grassy outcropping in front of a graffiti-covered wall and hoist the man up the wall.
|
|
One-Alarm Fire Breaks Out in Upper Level of Dolores Heights/Noe Valley Home
A seemingly small fire broke out just after noon Wednesday at a residence on Clipper Street in Dolores Heights, near the edge of Noe Valley. The fire broke out sometime around 12:15 Wednesday at 23 Clipper Street (at Dolores Street), as the San Francisco Fire Department reported on Twitter. Video from the incident showed firefighters tending to a small blaze that appeared at the roof level, emitting a small plume of smoke over the neighborhood.
|
|
Firefighters make quick work of fires in Oakland, SF
Fires in Oakland and San Francisco kept fire crews busy, Monday night…Firefighters in San Francisco made quick work of a vegetation fire near 35 Kirkwood in Hunters Point on Monday evening. SFFD first tweeted about the one-alarm blaze at 8:17 p.m. Firefighters protected a nearby structure as crews put out the fire. They were reporting no structure damage and no injuries. The fire was declared contained at 8:22 p.m.
|
|
San Francisco firefighters call for additional units to wildland fire in McLaren Park
Firefighters in San Francisco contained a four-acre wildland fire in McLaren Park Tuesday afternoon. No structures were burned and no one was injured. The fire was first reported on social media by the fire department at around 5:10 p.m. There were no evacuations associated with the fast-moving fire. When the fire approached the crest to Sunnydale and the golf course, officials asked for additional units. About an hour later, the fire department said the fire was contained.
|
|
Adult in stable condition after water rescue off San Francisco Pier 38
San Francisco firefighters were able to rescue a person in distress in the water off Pier 38 Friday morning. Water rescuers were on scene at 10:25 a.m., according to the fire department’s Twitter account. Shortly before 11 a.m., firefighters said the adult was pulled from the water by crews with Fireboat 3. Medics provided treatment and the person was taken to an area hospital in stable condition.
|
|
Photo courtesy of the SFFD |
|
Fort Funston Cliff Rescue
On June 9th at 7:45PM, crews rescued one adult from 75 feet down the cliff. The patient is expected to be okay.
|
|
Highway 101 brush fire caused by encampment
Firefighters brought a fire along U.S. Highway 101 in Potrero Hill under control after it scorched a hillside near the Cesar Chavez off-ramp on Wednesday morning. Crews responded about 10:30 a.m. to the blaze and it spread to about an acre before it was controlled about 11:15 a.m., the San Francisco Fire Department said on Twitter. No injuries were reported and no structures were damaged. The fire department said on social media that the blaze started in an encampment along the freeway.
|
|
Scientists are mapping the riskiest areas for disastrous wildfire. These are the Bay Area hot spots
The first radio dispatch reporting a vegetation fire on a day in late May put the blaze in the hills on the eastern rim of the Napa Valley, an area that had burned just five years ago in a massive firestorm. From his office, Division Chief Brian Ham with the Napa County Fire Department clicked on the video feed from a wildfire camera perched atop a hill overlooking the Napa Valley. A thin gray smoke column was rising from the bottom of a drainage. Fire tends to race uphill — especially when buffeted by winds. Ham jumped in his truck. His colleagues first at the scene were already calling for reinforcements. There’s no way to predict exactly when and where the next wildfire will ignite, but fire officials and residents across the Bay Area know the hot spots especially vulnerable to any spark. In these places, the roads are narrow, the vegetation is dense, and homes are intermixed with forests.
|
|
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.
|
|
The cruelest summer yet? California is facing drought, heat, blackouts and fires — all at once
Summer officially begins next week — and in California, it may be a cruel one. Even with the upheaval of the pandemic mostly behind us, the menace of drought and rising temperatures is threatening to derail the return to normal. This year’s extraordinarily dry, warm weather, which is expected to continue in the coming months, is stoking fears of a multitude of problems: increasing water restrictions, extreme heat, blackouts, wildfire and smoke — potentially all of the above in one vicious swoop.
|
|
Overworked California firefighters struggle with PTSD, suicide, fatigue, intensifying wildfires
The morning sun warms California’s high desert, launching a clear spring day. Behind high walls at The Nurturing Nest, across from a burbling mineral pool, a small group of men and women roll up yoga mats and arrange themselves in a semi-circle. Their week at this tranquil retreat is ending and a counselor seeks final thoughts from each of them. “Why are you here?” the counselor asks a young woman sitting alone on a small sofa, hugging a pillow to her chest. She stares into the middle distance and lets out a deep breath. “Death. So many deaths,” she said. The men and women at the retreat are steeped in death: All but one work for Cal Fire, dispatched to the desert as a last resort, seeking release from the neverending pain and fatigue brought on by their jobs. Defensive and defiant at the beginning of the week, the California firefighters and a dispatcher break down their emotional walls by the end of it, laughing, weeping and recounting once-secret stories about death, terror and fire. They recall horrific sights of friends trapped by flames and reveal their urges to take their own lives. For firefighters battling California wildfires, these emotional injuries are a workplace hazard. Longer and more intense fire seasons have taken a visible toll on the state, leaving a tableau of charred forests and flattened towns. But they’ve also fueled a silent mental health crisis, including an alarming rise in post-traumatic stress disorder among the ranks of Cal Fire, the state’s firefighting service.
|
|
Survival Guides
What do you need to do to prepare for an earthquake or in case you have to evacuate from a wildfire? These guides to preparing for and surviving a major regional disaster are also designed to be available “offline” as a pdf, in the event that you need to access it and are unable to get cell service.
|
|
Los Bomberos Participate in Carnaval Parade
Los Bomberos de San Francisco participated in this year’s Carnaval Parade after a two-year absence. It’s a celebration of cultural music, food, and dance. Our members represented many different Spanish-speaking countries and helped with recruitment for future firefighters at the event.
|
|
Michael Stewart Kearney
May 15, 1952 - June 12, 2022
Michael Stewart Kearney (Mike) of Pleasant Hill, California passed away peacefully on June 12, 2022. Mike was born in Oakland, CA on May 15, 1952 to James & Jean Kearney and was the youngest of three children. He attended San Francisco's Holy Name Grammar School and Saint Ignatius High School (1970) and was a graduate of San Francisco State University. In 1974, Mike joined the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD). He enjoyed working in many firehouses throughout his time in the City. He rose to the rank of Assistant Chief, and retired after a rewarding 38 years with the department in 2012. In addition to his work with the SFFD, Mike also served as an officer with Wild Land Fire Training, spending many years training the staff at Camp Mather, and led numerous strike teams for wildfires in California and throughout the western United States.
|
|
Remembering Our Fallen Brothers & Sisters |
|
Michael Kearney (Ret.)
Deceased: 6-12-22
Rank: H-40
Gerald Scullion (Ret.)
Deceased: 5-4-22
Rank: H-40
Gary May (Ret.)
Deceased: 4-16-22
Rank: H-30
Jack Cavallero (Ret.)
Deceased: 4-13-22
Rank: H-50
|
|
James Smyk (Ret.)
Deceased: 4-11-22
Rank: H-2
Thomas Griffin (Ret.)
Deceased: 4-5-22
Rank: H-2
James Juarez (Ret.)
Deceased: 3-29-22
Rank: H-20
Richard Fall (Ret.)
Deceased: 3-22-22
Rank: H-20
|
|
James Garvey (Ret.)
Deceased: 3-16-22
Rank: H-20
Eric Nylander (Ret.)
Deceased: 3-6-22
Rank: H-3
Dennis Martino (Ret.)
Deceased: 2-24-22
Rank: H-2
Brendan Ward (Ret.)
Deceased: 2-24-22
Rank: H-40
|
|
|
|
Local 798 Presents "Invest In Your Safety: Staff Up San Francisco"
San Francisco Firefighters Local 798 is honored to present “Invest in Your Safety: Staff Up San Francisco.” The COVID-19 Pandemic demonstrated the importance of maintaining a fully staffed San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) that is able to respond immediately to emergencies. Under extremely difficult circumstances, San Francisco Firefighters, Paramedics, and Emergency Medical Technicians have continued to save lives and property. Our members provide the highest quality fire protection and pre-hospital emergency medical care possible for the people of our city, but the increasing demands for service combined with a large number of retirements and the lingering impacts of the pandemic have created additional challenges for our Department. As San Francisco leaders plan for the future, in the name of Firefighter and public safety, the SFFD's staffing crisis and disaster preparedness projects must be prioritized. This publication illustrates the critical needs of our brave Firefighters and Paramedics. Click HERE to view the publication.
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
