SFFD honors Assistant Deputy Chief Niels Tangarlini for decades of community paramedicine work

Assistant Deputy Chief Niels Tangarlini received formal recognition from the San Francisco Fire Commission on June 28 as he prepares to retire, and SFFD leaders described his work as foundational to the department's community paramedicine efforts.

Chief Janine Nicholson invited Tangarlini to the dais and thanked him for his service. Tangarlini spoke briefly about a 30-year career in EMS and his satisfaction in building programs that addressed street crisis and frequent 911 users.

Assistant Deputy Chief Simon Pang read prepared remarks from Chief Tong that detailed Tangarlini's early work: creating the HOME (Homeless Outreach and Medical Emergency) team in 2004, outreach in neighborhoods with high concentrations of people experiencing homelessness, innovative community programs (including asthma outreach and donated spirometry testing), and development of the 13.33-hour shift schedule and other operational improvements. "Captain Tangarlini, known by his call sign EMS 6, was a one-person street crisis and street overdose team," Pang read, crediting Tangarlini with helping many frequent 911 users find appropriate services outside the emergency room.

Commissioners praised Tangarlini's leadership and influence on EMS integration into the fire department. "The kind of change that you've made requires so much commitment and so much vision," one commissioner said.

Department leaders said Tangarlini's community-focused work helped reduce pressure on suppression units by directing persistent service users to tailored supports. Tangarlini told the commission he plans to continue helping the community after leaving the department.

Next steps: the commission placed the record of the remarks on the public meeting record; no personnel action was taken in open session.