SFFD reports rising EMS strain, Narcan uptick and seeks drone variance under new privacy ordinance

The San Francisco Fire Department told the Fire Commission on Sept. 11 that operational pressure on EMS units is increasing and that new technology approved with federal grant funds cannot yet be used because of a recently passed city surveillance ordinance.

Chief Janine Nicholson and Deputy Chief Victor Wersch each delivered short reports on department activity. Wersch told commissioners the department handled 21 working fires in August, performed three cliff rescues and five bay rescues, and reported the department rescued 15 civilians in August (not counting routine medical transports). Wersch also highlighted community programs: Mission High School’s fire‑EMS program enrolled 37 students (15 female), and the department made 85 service referrals, creating about 40 successful connections for clients.

Wersch said the EMS 6 team recorded roughly 1,021 total calls from high‑frequency callers in the period cited, with 47.8% of those callers self‑identifying as homeless. He noted one case in which a 61‑year‑old man’s transports dropped from 42 in four months to 10 after housing placement.

The department reported a 29‑incident increase in Narcan administrations in August. "If there's a bad strain of an opioid out there, then we have a whole lot more," Wersch said, and the department will track trends monthly. Commissioners and staff described Narcan at about $5 per dose and discussed whether usage trends should be a future explicit budget line.

Commissioners probed ambulance offload times at hospitals. Deputy Chief Wersch said the department compiled a 10‑year comparison showing hospital turnaround times have increased: code‑2 offload times rose from about 23 minutes in 2009 to approximately 33 minutes in early 2019; code‑3 offload times rose from about 35:30 to 42:32 in the same interval. Wersch said staff will deliver an APOD (Ambulance Patient Offload Delay) report next month with breakdowns by hospital and time of day to help identify where delays occur.

On drones, Wersch and Deputy Chief Mike Cochran said FEMA/Cal OES has approved use of the department’s 2018 homeland‑security grant funds to buy drone equipment, but a city surveillance ordinance requires departments to report all technologies and may not allow automatic grandfathering. "We requested a grandfather clause for this because there's a new privacy issue with the public," Wersch said. Cochran added the program is "in the middle" between existing and future technologies and the City Attorney is reviewing whether SFFD can be exempted or require a variance. Mark Corso (city staff) explained the ordinance required reporting on existing technologies across departments and that legal staff are reviewing exemptions.

Commissioners asked how they could help. Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese asked staff to follow up with the City Attorney and requested the contact information for the attorney handling the variance; staff said they would follow up after confirming FEMA approval. Vice President Francie Covington thanked the public speakers and urged ongoing outreach to the Board of Supervisors and the mayor’s office when budget priorities are considered.

The discussion closed with no formal vote; commissioners asked staff for follow‑up APOD data and for updates on the drone variance process.

The department also briefly noted health‑and‑wellness work with the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation (a urinary tract cancer screening Aug. 3–5 that exhausted test kits) and said a new wellness program chief would be announced and likely begin in about a week and a half.

What happens next: staff will provide the APOD (ambulance patient offload) report with hospital‑by‑hospital detail, continue to track Narcan use monthly, and follow up with the City Attorney and commissioners about the drone variance and next steps for operating the drone program under the new surveillance ordinance.