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The San Francisco Fire Department
On any given day, the population of the City and County of San Francisco (the only city-county in California) reaches 1.5 million. The men and women of the San Francisco Fire Department pride themselves on being an “all hazards” department and ready to serve this dense population in a compact, 49 square mile, city. With over 18,000 persons per square mile, San Francisco is the country’s second most densely populated city. The SFFD responds to emergencies in a variety of ways such as structure fires, wildland fires, medical emergencies, hazardous material spills, above and underground transit incidents, floods, air, land and water vehicle accidents, water rescues, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, earthquakes and other natural disasters. The responses to these emergencies are also met with the unique and various terrains of “The City”. From iconic landmarks such as The Golden Gate Bridge and cable cars, the steep hills of both Bernal and Pacific Heights, the historic traditions and architecture of Chinatown and over 1,000 acres of Golden Gate Park, everyday the SFFD trains in these areas to ensure they can live up to their mission of protecting “lives and property of the people of San Francisco and its visitors”.
The SFFD has been an established paid department for 159 years, but the history reaches beyond that time. For just shy of 20 years, starting in 1849, the San Franciso Fire Department was a 90-man volunteer company. The San Francisco, The Empire and The Protection Companies were the first 3 companies to serve The City with their three small hand pump engines. Soon after, an additional 40 volunteers manned a hook and ladder truck. In 1866, just before the department would transition into a paid department, the volunteer firefighter numbers evolved to 775 members, 14 engine companies, 3 hook and ladder companies and 5 independent hose companies.
Today the SFFD, led by Fire Chief Dean Crispin (sworn in January 2025), boasts 44 city fire stations, 3 airport fire stations, 2 EMS deployment facilities and approximately 1,800 sworn members. In city limits, between the 2 divisions there are 10 battalions armed with 20 trucks, 44 engines, 60 ambulances, 2 full time heavy rescue squads, 3 fire boats and several additional supplemental specialty apparatuses including 2 multi-casualty units and 4 mini pumpers.
Training to perfection does not stop at firefighting. The SFFD partners with the California Highway Patrol to form a helicopter rescue technician (HRT) program. Due to the abundance of deceitful rocky cliffs, unfriendly waters and coastal winds, the SFFD responds to over 100 cliff and water rescues per year. Many of them involve pets and tourists and depending on the season, can come in multiple times per day. The HRT has 8 SFFD members who train quarterly and often include the K9 teams. Search and Rescue, Facility, and Detection and Tracking canines make up the furry department members. 4 of the canine teams are US&R trained and part of CA-TF3, there are 2 Facility canines who provide comfort and relaxation for the first responders and 1 Detection and Tracking canine. Xoro, is the Detection and Tracking canine and has been a department member for 8 years. He assists in detecting, tracking and locating those who have found themselves lost in the city or one of many parks and trails.
For several years SFFD was the only 24-hour rescue scuba dive team in the San Francisco Bay Area and still provides mutual aid when needed. Since 1989, all of the stations along the oceanfront are “Surf Rescue” houses and members stationed there must be certified rescue swimmers. Once these members obtain their certification, they recertify every 2 years to ensure their skill levels remain up to par. Today the SFFD has over 300 certified rescue swimmers. All of these special operations units are under the SFFD’s Department of Homeland Security Division.
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) contracts with SFFD to protect and provide emergency services to their San Francisco locations, including the Presidio Trust of San Francisco. Fire Station 51 exclusively provides ALS, fire suppression and rescue services to the Presidio and surrounding areas.
Although the City and County of San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, the fire department has several water sources and does not depend solely on one for fire suppression operations. The low-pressure water supply system is provided by the city’s Water Department. This system is shared with the city’s public utility fresh water supply. During the 1906 earthquake, many of the existing high-pressure pipelines were ruptured and damaged. The fire department made improvements after this and now several gate valves are incorporated throughout a new high-pressure system. These allow for any damaged portions to be closed off so that the remaining functional areas may continue normal operations. The High-Pressure system, or Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS), is built strictly for firefighting and autonomous of the public system. The Twin Peaks Reservoir has a 10.5-million-gallon capacity and relies on fresh water, gravity and two tanks for distribution throughout the AWSS. The two supply tanks run independently of each other as a safety in case of damage to one. Salt water can be pumped into the system via two back up pumping stations if needed, and the fireboats are used to assist in these operations.
The Division of Emergency Medical Services provides 24/7 Advanced Life Support to the citizens and visitors of The City and County of San Francisco. Each San Francisco Fire Department ambulance is staffed with single function EMTs and paramedics who are highly trained in prehospital care. With the guide of customer service, professionalism and the policies and protocols of the SF EMSA each “medic unit” is dynamically deployed throughout their shifts and can find themselves anywhere within the city limits during that time. With the option of 10 in county and 2 out of county emergency departments and 2 alternate destinations, the medic units are tasked with ensuring their patients are transported to the most appropriate receiving facility. The alternate destinations include the SF Sobering Center for those experiencing homelessness and under the influence of alcohol and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
4 Rescue Captains are staffed strategically at fire stations throughout the city and ready to respond quickly and safely to high acuity, high priority and high visibility EMS calls. The Rescue Captains are some of the department’s most seasoned paramedics and have additional training.
A new and evolving addition to the EMS Division is Community Paramedicine (CP). The CP Division is an innovative approach to providing care to communities that are in need of resources other than emergency departments. CP collaborates with other city agencies to provide housing, mental health, detox opportunities and almost any other social service a client may need. There are 3 programs within CP which provide services.
EMS6 takes on the highest utilizers of the 911 system. They will meet their clients wherever they may be and assess what needs they may have. If these needs can be met by means other than emergency services, EMS6 has the opportunity to decrease the strain on the 911, ambulance and emergency department systems.
The Street Overdose Response Team (SORT) responds in real time to drug overdoses and provides support such as substance abuse treatment, counseling, medication assisted therapy and Naloxone. Members in this role meet with their clients when the overdose is treated and again within 72 hours to provide the previously mentioned services.
The third Community Paramedicine program offered by SFFD is the Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT). This team is made up of at least one paramedic, another EMT or paramedic and a peer support specialist. SCRT responds to persons experiencing a behavioral health crisis where law enforcement intervention and emergency medical services are not needed. Collaboratively, this team will explore the needs of their clients and, if able, find solutions that do not put more tension on the emergency healthcare or law enforcement systems.
The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) hosted 51 million passengers in the 2024 fiscal year, averages 150,000 passengers per day and employs approximately 45,000 people. The San Francisco Fire Department’s Airport Division provides both onsite fire protection, fire prevention, code enforcement and emergency medical services to travelers and employees over SFO’s 5 square mile campus. Between the 3 airport fire stations, there are 4 ARFF units, 2 engines, 1 truck, 1 command unit, 2 paramedic units, 4 watercrafts and a minimum of 2 bicycle paramedics. 3 of the ARFF units are capable of deploying 4,500 gallons of foam and the fourth is capable of deploying 3,000 gallons of water and foam. The watercrafts are housed in an onsite SFO boathouse and, due to this centralized location, are now capable of responding 20 minutes faster than before. Airport Division personnel are all HazMat and FAA certified and conduct annual live burn trainings. SFO is 13 miles south of San Francisco and, due to the location, SFFD units train with surrounding fire departments such as Millbrae, Burlingame, Daly City, South San Francisco and San Bruno. All of these agencies plus many more will respond for mutual aid if requested.
With the constant growth in technological advancements and population, the San Francisco Fire Department’s Division of Fire Prevention and Investigation not only provides code enforcement and investigates fire origins but also educates the public on best practices for fire prevention. Programs such as the Lockbox Program, SRO Hotel Fire Safety Program and the Fire Safety Programs for Building Owners and Tenants create a streamline way for the community and SFFD to join forces to ensure fire safety for all. The City is divided into 17 fire inspection districts and has approximately 50 inspectors ensuring proper compliance of San Francisco and California fire codes. All of the over 600 high rise buildings in San Francisco are inspected annually. In 2024, the Fire Marshall implemented a new Lithium-Ion Battery Fire Code due to an increase in these types of fires.
The San Francisco Bay Area is known for diversity and community organizing. The SFFD upholds this legacy in their mission statement stating they “value health, wellness, cultural diversity and equity.” These values are upheld in their many affinity groups and community programs.
The San Francisco Fire Fighters Toy Program is run by Local 798, the San Francisco Fire Fighters union. It is the oldest and largest program of its kind in the nation. Each year over 200,000 toys are collected and distributed throughout the month of December to disadvantaged or displaced youth and families. The Toy Program depends strictly on donations from the community members. Toy collection barrels are set out at businesses, during holiday parties and corporate events and often toys are dropped off at fire stations. To volunteer, donate or find out more information, visit their website https://www.sffirefighterstoys.org/.
With their multiple affinity groups, the San Francisco Fire Department is engaged in their community daily. Community events and programs such as blood pressure screenings, Stop the Bleed Program, school and station visits, Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT), Community Outreach and Education (COE), The San Francisco Fire Youth Academy, the Mission High School Fire Science and EMS Academy Pathway Program and many more keep the department true to its values.
Members of the SFFD have opportunities to stay fit and embrace health and wellness while off duty as well. The department has close to a dozen club sports teams, including hockey, golf, jiujitsu and cycling, in which members have the opportunity to participate. Throughout the year department and union events are launched to raise funds for local charities and engage with community members. These events include the Bill Downing softball invitational tournament, the Jim Gallagher run/bike race and the Johnny V. chili cook off.
Looking ahead, the SFFD’s Department of Training will be housed at a new state of the art facility in the Bayview Hunters Point district thanks to the hard work and joint efforts of the Division of Support Services, The Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) bond and several other departments within the City and County of San Francisco. With ground projected to be broken Fall 2025, the new state of the art facility will have public art from community members, multiple classrooms and teaching environments and San Francisco building types along a hillside for realistic training. The facility will cover over 8 acres of land and completion date is estimated for Winter 2028.
As of 2023, The San Francisco Fire Department has the only 24 hour staffed fire department public information office in Northern California. With 3 full time PIOs and 2 relief officers, the office runs around the clock out of SFFD Station 4.
The San Francisco Fire Department averages 175,000-180,000 calls for service each year. SFFD Station 3 leads the department in overall responses (16,422), medical calls (9,072) and fires (984). Below are department stats from 2024.
Total Incidents: 178,703
Fires: 5,672
Structure: 1,426
Residential: 1,183
Highway Vehicles: 182
Other Vehicles (Air, Water, Construction, etc.): 29
Brush, Grass, Wildland: 91
Rubbish: 3,558
Emergency Medical Responses: 135,115
Mutual Aid: 33
HazMat: 746
Other Hazardous Responses (Arcing Wires, Bomb Removal, Power Lines Down, etc.): 1,429
Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs): 4,572
Water Rescues (Bay, Cliff, Water, Surf, etc.): 165
Other Response (Public Assist, Animal Rescue, Lock Out, etc.): 19,219
Sukai Curtis-Contreras
Paramedic/Public Information Officer
San Francisco Fire Department
Sam DiGiovanna is a 40-year fire service veteran. He started with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, served as Fire Chief at the Monrovia Fire Department, and currently serves as Chief at the Verdugo Fire Academy in Glendale. He is Director at Large with the California State Firefighters Association, Associate Director for the California Training Officers Association and a consultant for www.Lexipol.com