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City officials defend heat‑wave response as departments and nonprofits mobilized; supervisors press for faster outreach to vulnerable residents
Summary
Departments said the Department of Public Health led a unified command during the record September heat wave, mutual aid was invoked for ambulance support, and cooling centers and pool access were opened. Supervisors criticized the timing and the reach of outreach to seniors and non‑English speakers; dispatchers described severe stress from doubled 911 call volumes.
San Francisco department leaders and nonprofit partners told the Government Audit & Oversight Committee that the response to the record-breaking Labor Day‑weekend heat wave was coordinated but left room for improvement in timing, outreach to vulnerable populations and translation.
“Emergency response structures were activated and we operated in a unified command,” said Barbara Garcia of the Department of Public Health, describing hospital coordination, outreach to community providers and deployment of high-heat protocols. Dr. Navina Baba, DPH preparedness lead, said the city added private and county ambulance resources before invoking strike teams and mutual aid when call volumes continued to climb.
The Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and Fire Department said the 911 system absorbed a large surge in calls. Fire…
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