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Fire department reports COVID cases among personnel, expanded wildfire deployments and rise in encampment fires
Summary
At the Sept. 9 Fire Commission meeting, department leaders reported 26 positive COVID-19 tests among personnel, 41 members deployed on wildland incidents, and an apparent rise in encampment-related fires tied partly to changed recording practices; commissioners pressed for more granular data on alarms, rescues and ADU activity.
At the Sept. 9 meeting of the San Francisco Fire Commission, department leaders reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases among personnel, widespread wildland deployments and operational trends that are reshaping response priorities.
An unidentified department presenter told commissioners that the department had recorded 26 positive COVID-19 tests among personnel and had 15 members in quarantine; seven of those positives were among firefighters returning from wildland deployments. "So far, we have had 26 positive tests. We currently have 15 in quarantine," the presenter said, and described a protocol of testing returning crews and a five-day quarantine followed by repeat testing before release to the field.
Chief Victor Wersch delivered the operations report for August, detailing incident counts and mutual-aid activity. He said the department recorded one greater alarm and 22 working fires in August, along with 32 outside fires, 20 grass fires and 58…
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