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SFFD reports heavy mutual‑aid season, large PG&E drill and recent CAD outages
Summary
Deputy Chief Darius Letcher told the Fire Commission the department saw increased mutual‑aid deployments and conducted a major PG&E earthquake drill; he also described recent CAD and 911 outages that reduced detail available to crews but not radio dispatch capability.
The San Francisco Fire Department told the Fire Commission it has been busier this season with increased statewide mutual‑aid requests and major joint exercises, even as the department navigates intermittent computer‑aided dispatch (CAD) and 911 outages.
Deputy Chief of Operations Darius Letcher said June showed nearly a 10% uptick in fire reports and described a large brush fire (Wildey and Delta) suppressed without greater-alarm activation. He highlighted a June 25 PG&E functional drill at Treasure Island that simulated a major earthquake and involved PG&E and senior emergency operations staff. "The largest functional drill that PG and E has had in many years," Letcher said, adding the exercise strengthened interagency coordination.
Letcher also reviewed mutual‑aid deployments: the department has sent strike teams and single resources to multiple wildland incidents. He defined a type‑6 strike team as five like units and noted that a full strike team commitment typically consists of 17 personnel for two weeks, extendable to 21 days. "We're currently assigned to a rainbow strike team with other OES resources," he said.
Commissioners pressed Letcher about a local brush fire and long 911 hold times reported by a commissioner who smelled smoke at home. Letcher said there have been several CAD outages and a recent 911 outage tied to a provider network issue. He said the city is transitioning to a new CAD and plans to hire an SFFD liaison to dispatch; in the meantime the department relies on radio/manual dispatch to maintain response, though CAD outages diminish available incident detail.
The commission separately heard that the department avoided significant budget cuts after negotiations with budget analysts, but Director Mark Corso told commissioners the full city budget still requires board and mayoral adoption.
