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Chief reports on call‑volume spike, emergency alerts and ShakeAlert beta
Summary
Chief Joanne Hayes White briefed the commission on Labor Day heat‑wave call-volume spikes, the department’s GAO briefing, the Everbridge alert activation and coordination with DEM on ShakeAlert, and previewed Fleet Week activities and recent academy graduations.
Chief Joanne Hayes White told the commission on Sept. 27 that the department had reported a substantial spike in medical calls over the Labor Day weekend and presented related data to the Board of Supervisors' Government Audit and Oversight Committee. "We had a lot of fire alarm false calls, but, predominantly a huge spike, almost double the volume in our medical calls," Hayes White said.
The chief said the department largely met response goals given the surge but will hold an after‑action meeting with partner agencies to identify improvements, including hospital turnaround procedures that could shorten 'wall time' for crews. "One of the things that we would like to see as a department is the ability for the receiving hospitals to have a mechanism by which when there's a surge, be able to release our crews a little sooner," she said.
Hayes White and Assistant Deputy Chief Shane Francisco also briefed the commission on emergency-notification work. The commission heard that the Everbridge system had been used earlier that day to deliver an alert and that the city, led by the Department of Emergency Management, is piloting ShakeAlert, an earthquake early‑warning product developed with UC Berkeley and the U.S. Geological Survey. Francisco said ShakeAlert currently exists as a beta test and that the goal is to integrate alerts at critical locations such as fire stations so apparatus bay doors can open in advance of shaking.
The chief reviewed department staffing and training: the 120‑second recruit class graduated Sept. 8, new probationary firefighters have been assigned, and additional academy classes are under way. Assistant Deputy Chief Francisco described Fleet Week plans, including confined‑space rescue exercises with the USS Essex, urban search‑and‑rescue training with military personnel and public demonstrations across the city.
No formal action was taken; commissioners asked for follow‑up details on hospital handoff times and DEM’s ShakeAlert rollout.
