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Supervisors ask for study after Presidio Fire apparatus removals trigger safety and funding concerns
Summary
After testimony that a ladder truck and an ambulance were removed April 27, supervisors asked the Presidio Trust and GGNRA to conduct a study on staffing, mutual-aid and funding; the committee continued the hearing to the call of the chair to review study findings.
The committee held a lengthy hearing on the Presidio Fire Station after committee members were told that two pieces of apparatus'a ladder truck and an ambulance'were removed on April 27.
Supervisor Alioto (Alioto Pier) said she convened the hearing to examine the impact of reduced staffing and apparatus on response times and neighboring San Francisco neighborhoods. Al Duncan, president of the Presidio Firefighters, said the department now has 28 line personnel and that the removal of truck 51 (the ladder) and Medic 51 had changed the response matrix. "Any fire alarm outside of a single-family dwelling...we need to special-call a truck from the city," Duncan said, warning that heavy reliance on mutual aid draws resources from neighboring city districts.
Rich Weidman of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) said the decision to remove equipment followed an International Association of Fire Fighters grievance alleging the Presidio was not meeting NFPA 1710 staffing standards; GGNRA said the agency lacked funding to fully staff all pieces of equipment and will rely on mutual aid agreements with Marin County and San Francisco.
Presidio Trust executive director Craig Middleton and Presidio Fire Chief Tim Phipps told the committee they will fund and help oversee a comprehensive study, expected to take three to four months, to analyze options including securing additional base staffing, converting temporary positions to permanent, negotiating a revised funding split, or exploring absorption of Presidio fire functions by the San Francisco Fire Department. Chief Phipps and San Francisco Fire Department representatives said they are willing to be part of the study and continue interagency training, but noted training is harder to sustain when local staffing is thin.
Neighbors and community groups urged action to ensure adequate response times for Marina and adjacent neighborhoods. The committee concluded by asking the Presidio Trust, GGNRA and San Francisco Fire Department to participate in a joint study and continued Item 10 to the call of the chair.
Outcome: Item 10 was continued for the committee to review the study and further discuss mutual-aid arrangements and long-term funding.
