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Fire chief outlines hiring, academy classes and fleet priorities ahead of budget release
Summary
Chief Joanne Hayes White reported on academy graduations, hiring plans, fleet replacement and 150th-anniversary events; Deputy Director Mark Corso told commissioners EMS billing recovers roughly 27% of what is billed (about $26 million annually) and flagged plan-review revenue as the largest Fire Prevention income source.
Chief Joanne Hayes White delivered the department's administrative report on May 25, detailing staffing, training and budget preparations ahead of the mayor's proposed city budget.
White said the 119th recruit academy is in its 18th week with 49 recruits and the H3 level-1 EMT class has 31 students; the 119th class graduation was scheduled for June 9 at Riordan High School and the H3 graduation for June 3. She said the department is using H8-level per-diem staff to improve surge capacity and expects additional paramedic bump-up training to start in June.
White reiterated fleet replacement as the department's top budget priority and said the mayor's budget office and the commission have discussed a multi-year approach similar to the department's hiring plan. Chief Lombardi confirmed nine ambulances have been ordered, with deliveries anticipated around October.
Deputy Director of Finance and Planning Mark Corso briefed the commission on EMS revenue and cost recovery. Corso said the department currently recovers roughly 27% of billed ambulance fees and estimated approximately $26 million in annual EMS revenue. He told commissioners the Bureau of Fire Prevention's largest revenue stream is plan review and that adding plan-review capacity could be funded with additional plan-review revenue from construction activity.
On operations and special programs, White described recent interagency work with the Department of Public Health and the Mayor's office, the EMS-six triage program (operational since Feb. 1 and staffed daily from noon to midnight), and ongoing water-rescue coordination following recent drownings at Ocean Beach. She and deputy chiefs said the department would present more data on EMS-six and marine rescue capacity in a subsequent update.
No formal action was taken on the report; commissioners asked follow-up questions about revenue assumptions, possible expansion of EMS-six, and long-term staffing as retirements approach.
