we only have one investigator who speaks the dialect of cantonese but and we have other staff but it's not -- who are fluent in mandarin and cantonese and berm ease and it's not the same as having an investigator. >> >> and if we do receive a complaint in a language that an investigator doesn't speak of course we use language line and the entire staff just went through training on language line use just last week, and they have done so before. >> thank you so much ms. hicks. >> you're welcome. >> thank you director hicks. colleagues any further questions? thank you for your presentation. >> thank you. >> up next -- apologies chief hayes white and the fire

department. thank you for being here. >> thank you chair farrell. good afternoon members. committee. joanne hayes white and assisted by mark corso. you will have the presentation provided to you in hard copy and then we're going to set up it but i would like to get started first of all by thanking for the opportunity recognizing our analyst from the mayor's office of budget and kate howard. we're working closely with the mayor's budget office on this year's budget and have an opportunity to restore and rebuild some of the department that we had to reduce in sort of the lean economic years. we will go ahead and get started. today i wanted to talk about -- i have 14 slides for you. what i am going to talk about the overall operational trends and you can see on the slide that is

before you. those are some of the areas we will highlight and i am happy to answer questions at the conclusion or during the presentation. so starting off with the operational trends as you know san francisco is in a growth period and we're currently at our highest day time work force population and night time resident population in the city's history which is a good thing but it presents challenges for all of us. it manifested in increased call volume for the department. this shows over the course of the last decade calls look like. the major driver is our increase in medical calls. if we project out the remainder of 2015 at current levels we would see a 9% over 2014. we have been busy in the first quarter of the year and 15% increase in the last five years and means that our ems system has been strained

both on the ambulance side and the suppression side and it's not just an ambulance showing up but a team approach and a fire truck is dispatched to start the triage and the symptoms the patient is having. i would like to talk about our work group. i believe all are aware of it and in support of it and born out of the mayor's office. would like to credit kate howard for that. we received partial funding last year and we knew with the population growth and calls we would be strained. there is now empirical data that we need additional resources and through collaboration and great work from the mayor's budget office president breed participated. our fire commission has been supportive. members of the department as well as the

controller's office and how to sustain the growth. >> >> as you know we provide ems service. in addition there are two private ones and king american and american medical response and did better work through this concept in making sure their resources work well with ours in terms of peak periods and staffing and we had a huge issue last summer and increase the call volume and the guidelines we would like to provide to the residents and the visitors as well of the city but i think the work group has gotten off to a great start and i am happy to provide more information on that because we are seeing a reduction in those ambulance response times. there's basically and i will get into it further there are basically three thresholds we

try to adhere to and i will talk about that in another slide so there is work to continue on the system. (paused). . >> >> and the blue line representos average whereas the red line is the ninth percentile in terms when we -- ninetieth percentile and we have more fire

engines than ambulances and we looking at a four and a half minute response time and when the trained dispatchers hit -- enter the call for us to respond to. >> >> so generally speaking we have been able to meet in the ninetieth percentile about five minutes -- that goal. four minutes and 30 seconds has been challenging for us and discussions we will look at revisiting that. we know in most of the state that first responder time frame is five minutes which we would be in very good shape and due to increased population and more people and cars on the streets and we want to get there as safely as we can during our emergency response. the next interval we look at is the

seven minute threshold and for als response interval. the clock responds when you have a paramedic trained person so scene and generally we have met that over the last 10 years. we have a spike last summer but it's coming down again and a paramedic on als or life support engine or a riewfing in an ambulance and just to give the difference of the terms bls is what most of the san francisco firefighters are trained at and basic life support. i have a basic life support skill. i'm an emt and we can do medical interventions and primarily what we respond to any given day. als is for advanceed life support and it's paramedic

license the by the state and we're able to perform more difficulty emergency interventions and starting an intravenous line or inbaiting someone and doing something invasive in the field before going to the hospital and this next slide received a lot of attention over the last 10 months rightfully so when we saw the up tick that we didn't want to see and the ambulances arriving at the scene and we were in the six minute range and then got up to eight minutes on average and in the ninetieth percentile we went from 11 minutes and in june and july about 14 minutes in that area. i am happy to report with the good work of the work group in terms of the data analysis that the controller's office is helps

out and we getting help on that and the fact that we hired 35 emts and hit the streets and our fleet is performing better because it's less time for maintenance and repair. all of that is heading in the right direction. in this fiscal year we were able to add 40 new emts and in training and graduate next month on may 22 and assist with getting us back to the numbers we're comfortable with and in terms of having an ambulance on scene to transport. this slide depicts our hiring and staffing. for the last decade the department incorporated more time in the staffing model and for efficiency during the budget years that were difficult. the practice allowed us to have reductions while meeting our

minimum staffing requirements and relies on overtime is fiscally -- [inaudible] it's difficult for us and meant mandatory overtime -- chair farrell did you have a question? >> i'm sorry. i am going bato the other slide and if you do think you adding quat staffing levels to keep it where it is? >> i think we will get better. we have submitted our baseline budget and just to cut to the chase we asked for $11.6 million in enhancements which i can go over that and a portion is to become more efficient so just as a quick example to have a logistical support division out with the ems system and opposed to having the pair medrics -- paramedics responsible for stocking and we have a store

keeper to do those functions and they can get on the streets faster to the work they need to do. >> okay. thanks. >> so when the good news is like chief suhr did we're staffing back up as well so the overtime model mod work wld we needed do but we are hiring for people that retire and we will see an increase and see 250 and 300 members retire soon and so we want a staffing plan thal meet that and the mayor has prioritized public safety and established a hiring plan soon after becoming mayor but he's actually lengthened hiring plan and similar to the police department. we don't have as many classes coming in but between now and 2020 there is a

class of 54 members come in once every august. recently a class was addinged for next year and we have seen 30 and 40 retirements and it might double in the next years so we want to be ready for that. the other thing on this slide in 2005 we had approximately 1618 uniform the f.t.e. and currently we're at 1521 and we're building back up but we had a low of 1348 so good work is getting the firefighters and emts and paramedics back on the streets. regarding our fleet i mentioned we did take delivery of 19 ambulances recently. we have now more ambulances in our fleet than i can recall since i think

since the emf division was brought up from the department of public health in 1997 and taken delivery of 10 imagines and six -- 10 engines and six trucks. >> >> and this is something we talked to the mayor about. it's a huge investment. it's not like buying a sed an. the cost of (paused). . we have not been funded to keep up with that plan but we do have commitments from the mayor's office that for example we have asked to play catch up and

asked for $50 million to get to where we need to get. there are standards that we should adhere to that the national fire protection agency calls for. >> >> and we have rigs on the streets beyond what the guidelines say should be used as a front line apparatus. we were given $50 million and we were given the information and only $17 million is in the budget for fleet so the $50 million request is unreasonable and we get that but the good news we will work with the mayor's office to obviously not get it in one year but a phased approach to get us back on track because we did have years we had a lot of rigs coming in but they need to be retired at the same time so we want to get back to a plan where we're able to make it reasonable year in and year out. related

to facilities and capital. the department operates 50 facilities and three at the airport and operate around the clock and many of the facility issues we encounter are direct health and safety issues because we have people occupying them 24/7 and blessed to be the recipients of general obligation bond funding and that chipped a wat at much of the work that needs to be done before this there was an analysis done -- not by our department but objective party and there is that amount of differed maintenance and we have lots projects that will be touched through the bonds. what is highlighted here is that the

break down 73 million went for the facilities in the 2010 bond. 85 million in 2014 and it goes from -- you see some of the neighborhood fire stations. they need exterior and interior paint. that has been taken care of and roofs and windows and health issues and seismic bond and station on turk and supervisor breed and 16 in your district supervisor farrell were addressed from a seismic standpoint and the recommendation those should be taken down completely and rebuilt and that's where must of that is going and we have a good working relationship with dpw on those projects. the next one are growing city, the changes that the city will go through and have impact on the demand for services. part of the

demand is accounting for the future and the new developments that we see as well as -- i would echo what supervisor wiener said in terms it's a great time for the city but when it comes to a planning perspective when looking at any infrastructure whether it's transportation or public safety there should be an analysis what it means for the men and women of every department really and how that is going to work and be as seamless as it can be so we're working closely with the mayor's office as well as other city departments. in fact i was at a meeting this morning with the mayor. puc was there and dpw and planning to talk about the permittingly process which could be frustrating and we are working with the mayor's office to develop a sustainable system with the ambulances that i

talked about to better serve the publix needs. we. >> >> also looking forward to getting the ems division, the facility at 1415 evans and meant to be a temporary facility but hopefully you will see that on the 2016 health bond because they need and deserve a new division there. continue needs of a growing city and chief suhr mentioned it and the first time we coexist on the same campus. we have station four which is nine full time employees working there to protect the mission bay area which as everyone knows is growing rapidly and we're also at the table which we weren't before. we learned some lessons in regard to candlestick and hunters point and want to be there and i want to credit supervisor wiener for asking the departments to coordinate and

collaborate and so we're looking at big projects and including treasure island and candlestick point and hunters point and mark merced so we're -- park merced and looking at it and the future holds for the city departments. and current challenges we talked about it a little bit already. what we're looking at when we had the lean budget years and had to reduce we were committed to keeping the operations side as in tact as possible and we cut the fire investigation operations which we're rebuilding which is important. what was decimated is the ad min side of the house and some of the criticism we received is rightly deserved in terms of planning. we were great putting out the fires whether property fires or day to fires in the

department but in terms of a 3-5 year plan we don't have one that i am proud of so we gotten support not only from the mayor's budget office but the budget analyst we're absent a strategic planning entity, a policy person so we will -- we are asking the budget to restore some of the positions and enhance some of the positions. in addition to it and i know it's a big issue for many of you. it's important to know and we're working closely with the director, but our headquarters does not have wi-fi. none of the 50 facilities have wi-fi they talked about. it's the cost of doing business. we have a very small it staff and they don't do anything remotely and they have to visit the stations with issues or upgrades and it's duly noted and i think most people are surprised to hear

that and we were told it's happening soon but it could go a long way in us becoming more efficient and we also have ipads for the chiefs and there is problems with that because of the connectivity issues. >> i know supervisor wiener has has name on the roster. i just want to say as we go forward into budget season similar to the way with the police department and fire department is essential for the city and the men and women you lead whether it be the response times we're talking about last year or serving new communities. i want to make sure it's a priority from my perspective that we fully staff and have a plan to fully staff the fire department as you see fit and others see fit in the department so look forward to that discussion when you come back and so forth whether it's before or after the mayor's budget and have that discussion and talk

about long-term planning and it's essential for the residents and everyone would support that. supervisor wiener. >> thank you. i have a few comments. first the last point you made i am sort of surprised to hear there is no wi-fi in any fire department facility. >> so a member can come in and surf on their own personnel computer if they want to -- >> right they have to use their data to do that. >> correct. >> i guess maybe this is more a question to the mayor's budget office. you may not know but in terms of facilities and wi-fi we purportedly have it in this building and it's horrible and just like the market street wi-fi is horrible and so many of the city provided wi-fi networks are in inadequate and at least we have it and it works sometimes and i guess more of a question

for d tbut a broader question. i mean city facilities -- we should have free wi-fi everywhere but particularly in city facilities. if we can't put it in our own facilities how do we roll it out to the whole city? i don't know if you can comment on that. sorry to put you on the spot. >> i think that's why i am here. thank you for the question. as i think the cao talked about last week dt and coit put together a connectivity plan that is part of the plan adopted by the board this week. the first issue is connectivity of the city buildings and the first priority is the fire stations. the fire chief and i just spoke about this issue yesterday and she raised concerns about the timing and

the speed with which we're actually making progress on this issue so it's an important one that i am following up on as well. >> i appreciate it. what is the timing proposed for the fire stations? >> i don't have that information in front of me but i am happy to walk through that piece with you. >> yeah. >> i know it's on his radar but to your point. >> yeah, i like him and i think it's very good and he's new and inherited a problematic situation that i know he's trying to fix and it's i don't want to repeat some of the frustration that i expressed at the full board when we adopted the plan about the fact we're not laying conduit in the street before we cover them up and the wi-fi -- publicly available wi-fi and doesn't work and it's not going up quickly at all and when it does go up it may or may not work and we're the -- i

mean this is -- we're right next to silicon valley. i don't want to sound -- well, okay. moving away from wi-fi and it to the fire department. first i want to thank you chief and the members of the department for -- and i do this every year and i can't say thank you enough. since i have taken office there have been a number of fires in my district. when you're not in this role either at the fire department or the board or the mayor's office you don't necessarily reals how many fires are -- realize how many fires are in the city and we have so much wood frame construction in the city. there's a lot of fires and the fire department has been done a beautiful job getting there quickly and containing the fires and putting them out and when i look at

recent fires at 87th and lore lore or other areas and the department did a fantastic job and thank you to you and your staff. >> >> i think there has been progress made in the coordination around street design and at times a tense several year period but i think it's actually been a healthy process because the departments i think have been working more closely together and gaining deeper understandings of the needs and constraints of the other departments so i want to thank the fire department for participating in that process. and so with that said do you -- excuse me, where do you see in terms of the staffing of the department and getting it where it needs to be how long do you realistically think that's going to take so we get where we need

to be? and i know because of the use of mandatory overtime there is times when you're under staffed but you have enough hours but how many years do you think it will take? >> i think for a number of years we didn't hire with retirements and that put us in the hole but that changed since 2012. i would say we're on track and again it's dependent on the number of retirements. we are seeing when i first came in at 1990 and people would work past 55 and retire and we are seeing a trend they're not waiting or working as long and not maxing out. we can make projections but i think with the public safety hiring plan that the mayor has proposed we should be on track hopefully earlier than 2018 than the police department and maybe the 16, 17 time frame and we are

contemplating asking for another class in january but we're working with the mayor's office on that analysis but i think we're close. through the 1971 that the police use we look at it differently. we have a minimum staffing of 306 which represents the daily personnel in suppression that must be on duty and we use overtime to assist in that requirement but we're relying less as we staff up so i would say in the next two -- i would say 24, 36 months we should be where we want to be. >> do you think once we hit that point and with the challenges around paramedic staffing in particular that we will see a restoration of paramedics and for example -- i am bad with the station numbers and in my district and hawthorn street that station no longer has a paramedic sign and that's the recent information. >> correct. station 24. >> so do you anticipate

restoring some of the paramedics who were removed from stations? >> we do so what you're referring to which is an important issue is the staffing of an als or advanced life staff with the engine and most of the calls a bls provider is very much essential and usually their skills and training can do what we need them to do. we would like too store i think we -- restore and i think we took three awares and did an analysis with response times and i think we're down to 27 but get up to the 30, 32 range and restore a paramedic there and a a couple other stations as well. >> thank you. >> supervisor yee. >> thank you chief hayes

white. in regards to hiring or staffing i guess my question is really about recruitment and how are we doing in regards to -- it's almost the same question i asked chief suhr in terms of getting as many residents an opportunity to be part of this fire department, and i keep on hearing stories of people living in different states coming in and working for a few days and going back home and it may not be a concern but for emergency purposes where you need everybody on board and they might not be on duty and all of of a sudden they're not in the bay area and it's a big concern for me and other people they know. what are we doing