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SFFD details training drills, Larkin Street fourth-alarm and proposal to replace Station 13
Summary
San Francisco Fire Department leaders described a recent fourth-alarm fire on Larkin Street, large-scale emergency water drills in Golden Gate Park, new training access at Treasure Island and a private developer'9s offer to build a replacement site for Station 13 in exchange for land.
Chief of Department Dean Crispin and operations leaders updated the Fire Commission on May 14, 2025, recounting a fourth-alarm apartment fire on Larkin Street, new training opportunities at Treasure Island, a 3,500-foot 5-inch hose drill in Golden Gate Park and an offer by a private developer to build a modern replacement for Station 13.
The department described the Larkin Street response as a fourth-alarm incident in a wood-frame, multi-unit building where fire moved quickly into attic spaces. Deputy Chief Patrick Grama said Engine 41 was first to arrive and that the incident required coordinated command and multi-company tactics. The report credited incident command and arriving companies with preventing a larger conflagration.
The update included a multi-agency training exercise in Golden Gate Park that laid roughly 3,500 feet of 5-inch hose to test the department'9s ability to move high-pressure water from an Ashbury Tank source to a termination point near the Great Highway. Deputy Chief Grama said crews measured pressures and volumes at multiple points during the drill; pressures at the source began around 220 pounds per square inch and measured roughly 125—130 psi at the engine intake about 3,500 feet away. The department said the exercise simulates how water would be supplied to the Parkside, Sunset and Richmond districts in a large fire or earthquake.
Command staff also said the department finalized a memorandum of understanding to use an old post office building on Treasure Island for live-structure training. Deputy Chief Grama said the training began the week of May 12 and will allow truck companies to practice vertical ventilation, ladder work and other forcible-entry evolutions on a real building prior to its planned demolition.
On facilities, Chief Crispin reported a private developer, Related Companies, has offered to build a new firehouse and relocate an existing station. "A large company named Related Companies has offered to build a new fire station for us," Crispin said, adding the project would relocate Station 13 from Sansom to Battery and allow the developer to construct a high-rise on the existing Station 13 parcel. Crispin said department staff have met with the developer and will support the project through planning hearings where appropriate.
The commissioners asked operational questions about construction-site fire risk after the report. Grama and other operations leaders noted an elevated risk at active construction sites, in part because fire protection systems and wall coverings are often removed during work. Commissioners and staff discussed increased inspections, pre-incident information entries to dispatch systems and contractor outreach as mitigation steps.
The department also described ongoing permit-center changes, a pending MOU with Brycer (a compliance tracking service) to identify buildings out of compliance on alarm and sprinkler certifications, and continued efforts to capture CJAC training reimbursement funds for props and classes.
The chief closed his operational report by honoring firefighter Richard Cawkin of Engine 36, who died May 11 after 28 years with the department. "May he rest in peace," Crispin said.
