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SFFD unveils draft drone policy; commissioners push two-month timeline
Summary
Assistant Deputy Chief Shane Francisco briefed the commission on a draft drone policy for a one-year city pilot; commissioners pressed for privacy safeguards, estimated costs, and a timeline and asked the chief to return with a budget and proposed staffing model within about two months.
Assistant Deputy Chief Shane Francisco presented the Fire Department's draft policy and operational concept for a city pilot program on July 26, describing the policy's focus on approved use cases (emergency response, search and rescue, disaster operations and training), privacy and data-retention safeguards, and FAA compliance options.
Francisco said the city has authorized five departments to run one-year pilots and that each department must finalize its department-specific policy for approval by department administration, commission review and COIT (Committee on Information Technology). He described FAA pathways for government entities, including Part 107 certification and applying for a Certificate of Authority (COA) that would allow a municipality to self-certify operations after demonstrating training, standards and procedures.
He discussed operational options such as tethered drones (which can stay aloft for extended periods and cost roughly $60,000 for specialized systems), commercial-type quadcopters with high-end thermal cameras (camera packages can cost roughly $10,000) and lower-cost practice drones. He also noted maritime robotics (a remote boat called "Emily") and ground robots as complementary tools.
Commissioners emphasized privacy and community engagement. Chief Francisco said the draft policy proposes an independent review process inside the department to redact personally identifiable information and to store data on a separate server in compliance with city retention rules, and the planned drone advisory committee (mayor's office, city administrator, COIT staff) will review use-case authorizations and data annually.
Several commissioners, including Commissioner Joe Alioto Veronese, urged a rapid timeline: Veronese proposed that stakeholders be engaged and a policy be returned to the commission within two months; Francisco agreed that two months was feasible. Commissioners asked for a follow-up package that includes a proposed budget, the number of personnel to certify, training time estimates, likely grant sources, and an operational deployment model.
The commission voiced strong support for pursuing drones for cliff, surf and bay rescues and other life-saving missions, while underscoring privacy safeguards and clear oversight structures. The police department is not part of the pilot presently, according to staff.
