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San Francisco disaster council highlights event readiness and pushes regional "Bay Web" communications plan
Summary
City officials used the Disaster Council's first 2012 meeting to praise winter response to multiple fires, preview America's Cup public‑safety exercises, and press for a regional interoperable communications and data network dubbed the "Bay Web."
Speaker 1 opened the Disaster Council meeting on the city's disaster response over the past year and said recent incidents — including a multi‑division, five‑alarm fire in the Western Addition before Christmas — showed the value of coordinated response. "We had a fairly big one, just a few days before Christmas in our Western Addition area," the speaker said, noting there were no fatalities and only limited serious injuries.
The opening remarks stressed partnerships among residents, faith organizations, nonprofits, and multiple city departments and thanked staff for working with CalEMA and the SBA to secure targeted aid. Speaker 1 also described departmental exercises led by the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) to prepare for the America's Cup, which will bring large crowds and require coordinated planning across fire, EMS, police, parks and water channels. "These large events ... require cooperation — we never work in silos," the speaker said.
Why it matters: officials said the America's Cup and similar events expose gaps in cross‑agency communication and data‑sharing. To address that, staff signaled support for building a regional interoperable communications and information system — repeatedly referred to in the meeting as the "Bay Web" — and promised to answer board questions about financing.
DEM and other presenters also briefed the council on federal funding risks. Speaker 3 said regional USI funding remained intact for the current year (a regional allocation of $34,000,000 was described), but cautioned that future cuts could threaten programs. The meeting also noted FEMA will roll out a national recovery plan in San Francisco on Feb. 16, where the mayor is scheduled to deliver opening remarks.
The meeting concluded this topic with a pledge to pursue the Bay Web project while minimizing gaps between agency plans; DEM will return with financing and governance details. There were no formal votes taken on any of these items at the meeting, and staff said further briefings and public hearings will follow.
