SFFD chief flags larger budget shortfall, announces permit fee study and new assistant fire marshal

Chief of Department Dean Crispin updated the San Francisco Fire Commission on March 12 about department activities and financial pressures, and announced several administrative initiatives.

Crispin said the department is facing a larger budget gap than previously reported, citing a recent increase stemming from unrecovered FEMA reimbursements. "876,000,000 was the latest figure and in the meeting with the larger agency group we now have a much larger budget deficit due to some FEMA reimbursements we haven't received, which is in excess of $200,000,000," he told commissioners. "We're gonna have to do more with less, and we need to figure out where we can be more effective and more efficient."

What the department will do: Crispin said Director Corso will commission an outside permit‑fee study to assess whether fire prevention and ambulance fees are aligned with comparable agencies. He described a planned CAD (computer‑aided dispatch) replacement to modernize dispatch operations—"the last one was 17 years ago"—and said the department will conduct focus groups with end users before deployment. Crispin also reported updates to the department disaster manual to define the role of a new CD‑4 command staff position and said the department is preparing a new strategic‑planning cycle.

Personnel action: Crispin announced the promotion of Captain Gerald Gower to the H42 assistant fire marshal position after a competitive interview process involving six candidates. "We interviewed six members of fire prevention... we came to the correct decision, which was to promote Captain Gerald Gower to the H42 position," Crispin said. Crispin introduced Chief Gower, who was present at the meeting.

Other brief items: Crispin highlighted recent community outreach events, public‑facing programs such as the city EMT cohort, and planned expansion of neighborhood street teams (see EMS article for operational detail). He said the department is conducting five‑inch hose drills to test new hose tender capabilities and recognized the role of the department’s mural and outreach activities in community engagement.

Procedural vote: The commission approved the minutes from the Feb. 26 regular meeting during the March 12 session. A commissioner moved to approve the Feb. 26 minutes and Commissioner Steven Nakajo seconded; the motion carried and the president recorded an "aye." One commissioner abstained, stating they had not attended the Feb. 26 meeting.

Next steps: The department will proceed with the permit fee study and CAD planning, and the commission asked staff to report back with timelines and any budget implications related to the fee study and capital work.