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Fire Department reports surge in calls, second‑alarm Outer Sunset fire and equipment deliveries; training center work set to begin
Summary
Deputy Chief Patrick Rabbit and others reported a two‑year rise in calls for service, a second‑alarm residential fire in the Outer Sunset with two civilians transported, new hose tenders being accepted, DPW cost estimates for four station rebuilds due Sept. 19 and training center construction starting mid‑November 2025.
Deputy Chief Patrick Rabbit and Deputy Chief Patrick Rabbit's August operations report to the San Francisco Fire Commission on Sept. 10 outlined a sustained increase in calls for service and several operational developments.
Rabbit said the department has logged 7,728 more calls for service for the two‑year span cited (Aug. 31, 2023–Aug. 31, 2025). He reported an unusual month‑to‑month increase in building alarm activations (an increase of 78 calls for the month reported in the packet) and noted that outside fires remain challenging because of wind, topography and access issues.
Rabbit described a working second‑alarm residential fire in the Outer Sunset (reported as the greater alarm at 1350 40 Seventh Avenue) where Engine 23 arrived to heavy black smoke, units laddered the building, a second alarm was struck and companies opened voids to extinguish the fire. Two civilians were transported; the Bureau of Fire Prevention and Investigation is investigating the cause.
On apparatus and facilities, Rabbit reported that two additional hose tenders have completed vendor punch lists and will be assigned to Fire Stations 17 and 22 to complement a newly delivered tender at Station 18. He said the Department of Public Works will deliver cost estimates on Sept. 19 for four station rebuild requests (Stations 2, 40, 7 and the Bureau of Equipment) so the department can coordinate with capital planning and bond allocations.
Training and preparedness updates included a scheduled construction start mid‑November 2025 at the training center (soil preparation and pile driving), recruit academy progress (the 137th academy in its seventh week and H3 level training scheduled to start mid‑September) and large training‑hour capture (field training produced roughly $41,000 in CJAC funds, Rabbit reported). The airport division will run a full‑scale failed‑takeoff exercise Sept. 17 with victims in the water and multi‑agency response; Rabbit invited commissioners and command staff to attend.
Rabbit said the bureau of fire prevention completed 241 school inspections for the previous school year (100 percent completion) and that R1/R2 residential inspections (buildings with nine or more units) continue to be important for preplanning and hazard identification, including improperly stored lithium‑ion devices.
Commissioners asked for additional training center updates and requested a briefing from the training center lead at a future commission meeting. The department did not take any votes on these operational items at the meeting.
