we rely on the parent his' support and their participation in this program because they are the reason that these young people are here they are the ones who will ensure that they have a future ahead of them. again, every saturday that i get up and come to do this program, i am sure, just like you guys staying out late at night, sometimes you wonder, do i want to do this? you have to remember, i did this for 15 years without any compensation. nobody paid for anything for me. i did it because i love the results. i love working with these kids. i love the enthusiasm. like this young lady came into this program as a go-getter. she reminded me of one of our assistant chiefs. i like that. we have other ones who came in shy, not knowing much and we gave them an opportunity to lead and they take it and they move forward to. that is important. it doesn't matter if they work in fire service. we want them to do a positive thing in their life, whatever

choice that they take. and with that, i ask any questions? >> president cleaveland: thank you, very much. do we have any public comment on this presentation? >> commissioner, we have one more part of this presentation which is a san francisco black firefighter is part of the presentation. >> president cleaveland: we will come back to that. his. >> commissioner veronese: i think my name was up there for the last item. i do not me to cut in front of you. what is the difference between the blue and the white uniforms? >> we base our program on the strip -- structure of the fire department. the white shirts are officers. they are either lieutenants, commanders or the ones with the little squares, those are graduates and volunteers. the blue shirts on the ones -- are the ones that are the cadets who are the sergeants and our cadets. we have one other colour which

is a black shirt who is supposed to be here but could not make it that is our first sergeant. those are the breakdowns on the shirts. >> so that i understand, there is an academy class a graduates in november and so, are all these individuals in the academy class? or are these graduates? how does this work? >> the three on the end our graduate. everybody else is in the academy a part of this group -- we have one that is graduating this year he was a senior. she is graduating this year. the other cadets will come back next year. the three on the end of the graduates of the program his. >> commissioner veronese: when you graduate from the program, graduates in november and the next one starts in september, so are all of these guys coming back in september to learn new things? how does that work? once you graduate you are out? >> it is a four-year program. we try to get them from high school. each year there is a different block that they will go through.

in so doing before your -- during the four-year period they should go through all the blocks of training that we have to offer. some of them, and in their junior year and sophomore year and they would only get two or three. but every year, the blocks of training changes. there are some blocks that never change, rules and regulations, fire department structure, those blocks are given every year because of the new people coming in. but every year there is a different part to firefighting that we present to the cadets. his. >> commissioner veronese: what kind of exposure do they get to the department itself. i know chief nicholson was teaching a particular class in one of the videos. >> that's correct. we ask asked the fire department , which are provided training on the fire department structure, we bring the cadets are the different fire stations. we are at station for. part of that video and also the airports. they get to go out to the field get to see what the firefighter is due. in previous years we

participated in a battalion drill in district ten. very limited operations that the use academy could get involved when -- and. we tried to mix our operations in with the fire department operations to give them that hands-on first look at what happens in a fire station his. >> commissioner veronese: how many recruits had graduated from the program since it started? and where do you do recruiting? >> as lieutenant floris mentions , we had 370 youth that came to the program. but all the youth that come to the program does not necessary graduate -- graduate. out of that 370 that came to the program, we have about 57 that graduated. to graduate, there are certain things they have to complete. community service and training blocks. if they don't meet all of those, they will get a certificate of appreciation but not necessarily a certificate that you completed all the requirements of the academy his. >> commissioner veronese: how do you do recruiting? >> i am glad you brought that up this hundred $25,000 that we

received from the fire department which was from the city which was delivered to us was very helpful. because of the fact that we are limited in our funding and it came from the b.f.a. membership dues, we had to reduce our recruitment to just in the neighborhood of the bayview hunter's point area. then we opened it up and we have additional funding and then we did citywide recruiting. we did flyers out to the unified school districts and we did online recruiting. we did outreach that was more expansive because we had the money to fund more children. one of the things we try to prevent his having a lot of kids apply and then tell them there is no space. so prior to the grant money that we received, it was basically within that hunter's point community that the recruitment went out to. it was mostly all word-of-mouth and through the churches in the area his.

>> commissioner veronese: thank you. >> no problem. thank you. >> president cleaveland: chief hayes-white? >> commissioner hayes-white: i am very supportive of this program. you can hear how articulate the members of the academy are and like the assistant fire marshal said, we would like to have all of them during the fire department but that is really not an essential thing. but i think the skills that they learn our life skills, confidence building, self-esteem , teamwork, all things that make for a successful person down the line and a sexed -- successful adults showing up on time, looking good in your uniform, wearing it appropriately. so, very much a supporter of this program. i do agree that the assistant fire marshal has put a lot of time in on his own. he has dedicated his life to this program.

i do have remarks related to the overall black firefighter association under the new direction of captain sharman tillman but i will weigh in after that. i wanted to say great job to each and every one of you. thank you for presenting. i think i was at your graduation in 2014. i had the opportunity to do that i'm real proud of the adults that you have become and the adults that you are becoming. keep up the great work. thank you. >> thank you, chief. >> president cleaveland: thank you, chief. commissioner covington? >> commissioner covington: thank you, mr president. thank you for being here and thank you assistant fire marshall pruitt. this is so heartwarming to see all of you here. i am glad that you could make it this evening. i prompted the extension of the invitation for you to come. it is so important to have programs like this that our

young people can go to on a saturday. and learn all of the things that help you throughout your life. financial literacy is given short shift in a lot of areas. and you cannot live a good life without financial literacy. because even though you make a lot of money, that money may disappear because you don't know how to manage it. so even though this is the youth fire academy and you are learning other life skills, that is so very important. not just to you but to your family members and it is very important to the society at large. so i appreciate your stick to it attitude and i appreciate you coming out this evening and sharing your thoughts with us. i wish you the absolute best. i just have one question for you

, assistant fire marshall pruitt. that is, the equipment. what kind of equipment do you have. do you get equipment from the department? if so, what kind? >> yes. currently we have a request to the department for equipment, fittings, hoses and other equipment that was sent into the black firefighter is to support the program. under this current budget there is an equipment budget but that is only to get our cadets turn out and helmets and other -- and other safety equipment. but we do have a request in with the chief at captain sherman. they can elaborate on a request for equipment in supporting the program. i thank you for that question. >> commissioner covington: surely. these turnout codes and sittings , these are used items that can be recycled into your program?

>> yes. it is most likely going to be recycled because of the cost of turnouts. but i am working with the other nonprofits in obtaining the turnout in the safety equipment. turnout in the safety equipment.

>> thank you for this presentation. thank you very much members of the san francisco fire youth academy black firefighters. i want to say, again, as the commissioners have expressed as well, how impressive it is to see all of you in uniform. one these commissions that checks you out, i want to know what your tie looks like, how many pens you have in your pocket. if your name tag is shiny. you pass all the tests. part of this is just a pure enjoyment of hearing the expression. at this time, if you can knowledge me, there's three members up there that didn't express anything at all. i wanted to know if you wanted to say anything at this particular point. i know that one of the gentlemen was nadding your hea nodding yo. would you like to say anything at this point? introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about yourself.

>> i'm dimitri weinstein, i'm 17-years-old. i started this program last year so this is my second year in the program. this program really helped me. it taught me a lot about self-discipline and respect. having to get up on time and get places. making sure that your uniform is ironed and looks neat and kept neat. one of the big things that was a really plus for me was the interactive and last year we had a ambulance company do a basic life-support class, which was really hands-on and fun. to learn and know how to give c.p.r. we also did a first aid class this year. that was also really fun. i got to learn ways to make explains ousplints out of itemsr

house. over all, this program really means a lot to me. i want to be in the fire department one day. i actually graduate in this november from the youth academy. i'm looking forward to it. >> thank you, very much. >> hello. my name is rome baker. this is my second month in the program. i am 14 and a freshman. over all, i just really love the program. meeting new people and hearing their stories on why they are a firefighters or why they are wanting to be a firefighters or why they're in the program in general is just very nice to hear. the hands' on experience that i've gotten in the two months has been great and it's preparing me for the future of wanting to be a fire fighter. >> thank you. i don't think we heard from our past commander.

with all those medals and ribbons. tell us a little bit about you. >> hi, my name is christine low. i graduated from the program last year. this is my first year has a volunteer staff. i have been in the program for eight years. i came when i was in seventh grade. at first, it seemed pretty scary because i was like a very shy person. i feel like this program over all has helped me through a lot of things. whether it's support from chief pruitt, my parents, and all of my friends behind me. i have gone through several leadership positions that i never thought i would be able to obtain. i was squad leaders, first sergeant and commander. they were all experiences that were very positive and do have an impact on my life right now.

thank you. >> thank you, christine. christine was a highly decorated cadet, as you can see from the medals on her chest. the only one that out did that was diego perez. he was the highly decorated member of our program. if you look at our video, that's him on the video as a little boy talking about the fire youth academy. thank you. >> again, i wanted to acknowledge all of you. thank you so much for participating as well. for us, the commissioners, for myself speaking, this is really where it's at. to see the investment by the black firefighters union, interns of yourself before you folks would be here looking so good to be so articulate and confident. it's just a great thing. your parents back there, i just give you so much acknowledgment. i appreciate your support. is there a relationship between

your academy through city colleges, fire science academy or is there some kind of a funnel program to that? some relationship? >> yes, with this new finding, that was the part we were establishing. that's still in the negotiating part. they first start off with the unified school district and to elevate reunified school district to the city college of san francisco. the foundation has been laid but it has not been an agreement made at this time. this is a work in progress for us. the whole point was to get that pipeline into the fire service from high school to city college to the san francisco fire department. >> again, i agree with the chief that the fire science is a goal for all of you that talked about it. those who wish and desire it. the accomplishment in terms of skill ask confidence is still so gratifying to be able to see. how many members do you have in your group now? >> we have 30 members in the program. >> and the other two things, at

the uniforms that the cadets wear, how do they get that? is that provided by the program? >> yes, unlike the pal program, everything from the fire youth academy, we buy the black firefighters. so we provide them all the uniforms. it's the sixth edition fire manuals. we provide them with meals and also with $100 stipend, depending on their participation during the month. also, our officers get an increase in their stapens stipee give them a real world effect of just like if you are in the profession of any time. >> thank you. i appreciate it. i've been an educator for years and doing this. i just wanted to acknowledge the black firefighters. thank you so much. >> i just wanted to add about the stipends a. as we went through 14 years with the black firefighters dudes only, we got

to a point that we could not give stipends, my concerns was how many of our kids would show up? all of them showed up. it wasn't about the stipend. it was about the program. we were able to dig into our pockets and find stipend money but the kids are here because they want to be here and parents support them and that gives me more energy and pride to see that dedication from them. >> thank you, vice president. commissioner. >> thank you, president cleveland. >> it is a real pleasure to see you and hear you. i don't know much about you. i know you always have a smile on your face. you always have a good word when i've been around you. >> do tell my subordinates about the smile, they won't believe you. >> you are an american hero. it's people like you that make this country great. no one wants to get up at 7:00

on a saturday morning when they don't have to. i don't care who you are, even if you are military background and you are used to getting up early. you want to sit around and read the paper and have a cup of coffee. you don't want to head out. you want to be on your own time. i, as a commissioner, am grateful to have people like you in the fire department. thank you, very much. >> thank you. >> and assistant fire marshal, i don't know you that well either but thank you. assistant -- i called you captain tillman. >> he is the tall guy in the back. >> i'm sorry. >> fire marshal pruitt, i'm sorry about the name. but you are an american hero. i just got so excited about talking about you i read my wrong notes. thank you for what you are doing. you will be a great leader of the black firefighters association. i'm sure you have the attitude that shows great leadership.

i appreciate you stepping forward with your group today. captain tillman, thank you too. so education is never wasted. so you have these 370 people and only 57 graduated is meaningless to me. with all those other that didn't necessarily graduate, didn't waste anything. >> that's right. >> they learned. they learned how things are hard from me when i was young. getting up in the morning. my mother was working a job and a half. the parents were divorced. i have a hard time getting up and getting off to school. >> i want to make a correction. it's 157 graduates. >> i'm sorry. >> i remember signing more than 57. >> i was going to say. >> i thought there were more than 57. >> ok, 157. the rest didn't waste. congratulations to those who did make it.

learning finances at a young age, i didn't learn finances until i was in my 30s. that was a lot of wasted finances in my life paying a lot of interest. i admit it. to compare yourself to your peers when they graduate from high school, you have a leg up on them. you will always remember before this commission, i bet, when you look behind you, you will see ht candidates and it's difficult. it's not that you weren't it's the competition is fierce. people want to be firefighters

because it's in their soul. they have that feeling. people like lieutenant flores has learned she's got that feeling and it's something that people have for a profession they seek, i would hope. i want to do in life what you like to do the best. whether it's firefighting or medical or journalism. congratulations to you. it's a terrific -- i'm so happy about this program. i didn't know much about it. i will support it. sorry for mixing your name up. >> thank you, commissioner. >> did you have some final comments? >> i wanted to also express my excitement and congratulations to all of you. i remember when i was -- i think it was 19-years-old i joined the academy down in los angeles

police department. i wore a powder-blue outfit like you guys have on. i remember having to make sure that it was tight and make sure the shoes were, you know, shiny. we can't see your shoes, don't worry about it. [laughter] and upon graduating, having some sort of badge. to this day i still collect the badges that i get because, i remember the pride that goes into wearing a badge because you carry with yourselves the history of the organization, the teens useinstitutions and all tg people that have done great things, such as, you know, fire marshal pruitt and for that matter our chief here, who is an icon throughout the nation as a chief of the department. you all have something to be very proud of. you will look back at this video one day and you are going to look at your selves and think my

god, look how young i was. i didn't know anything back then. you've started something early. much earlier than i did. as a paramilitary organization, you've learned, i imagine, some very important skills that will take you throughout the rest of your life. so i second about no education is ever wasted. you guys will be the leaders of whatever jobs you go into. you will be the ones that people look up to. you may even save a life one day. congratulations to you allment i'm proud of all the work you have done. keep it up, carry it on and forward and teach some of the people that surround yourself with and some of the lessons you've learned. i would only finish by asking you to, you know, perhaps tell the rest of the world here since we are on tv, how people can donate to your organization, if they can donation to your organization. i don't know how that works. if it's possible, if you take donations, how would an individual get in touch with

your organization? >> you can donate to our organization, we have a 501c-3. we're at 4926 third street, san francisco, 94124. yes, thank you very much. >> thank you for your work. >> thank you. >> thank you, commissioner. i'd like to commend you for your 15 years of service to create this academy. it's been fantastic. that dedication doesn't come along very often. >> thank you. >> on behalf of the department, i'd like to commend each of the cadets and the graduates as well on making it through a program that, at times is really hard, i'm sure. at times you want to quit. you don't want to get up every saturday morning. you have done it and you've continued to do it. your life will be richer for this experience. thank you for providing that to these cadets. thank you for your dedication,

each of you, in the program. i agree, we need to get the word out so that more donations can happen and can flow into the academy, the youth academy program. and if there's anything we can do to help bond this program with community college, let's have a conversation. the commissioner can help in anyway. we will certainly be happy to do so and we'd like to do so. >> yes, i appreciate and look forward to any kind of support that the commissioner and the fire department can give our organization. we're soap fo open for support d ideas. >> let's follow-up on that. >> yes. will do. >> thank you so much. >> thank you, commissioner. >> thank you. [applause]

>> we will hear from captain fillman, i believe. come on down! >> he is a little taller than i am. i'd like to -- if it was ok with the commissioner, i saw matt lane come in and steve kuirl iss over there. if we can go to them and come back after them. i mean, you know, got to go with my guys first. we'll come in after. if that's ok with you guys. >> fine with me. >> commissioners, is that ok? >> i think that's, you know. >> we're going out of order here. item number 4.

recognition of firefighters dwane ekert, matt lane and steven keller, the commission would like to recognize the american legion department of california award recipients, firefighters dwane ekert for his award as firefighters of the year for state wide community service and firefighters-paramedic, matt lane for his award as the california firefighters of the year for valor along with stephen keller, who will also be recognized by the american legion local post number 456 for their actions during a structure fire where several rescues were made. >> will these gentlemen please come forward? come to the podium. first off, congratulations to each of you. i think the first thing i'd like to do is just ask each of you to

describe in dwane ekert's case, describe the service award that you received and why you received it. and in the case of paramedic matt lane, and stephen keller, describe the incident a little bit so that the viewers at home as well as the commissioners and the audience here can understand just what you were under and why that happened. >> dwane, i don't want to take anything away from you. it's a wonderful request, however, knowing all three of these gentlemen, i don't know that they would do themselves -- i think that they're very humble. it might be perhaps better if you ask them questions. i'm very proud of them and i'd love to read you and give you a real description. i think they're going to take a

short cut. they're so great as what they do but they're humble. thank you. is that ok with you three? >> ok. >> that's what i thought. >> thank you, very much. >> so first we'll start with dewayne. who is not working today. we're delighted to have all three gentlemen here. all three of our members. with regards to dewayne. he entered the fire department in 2004. he demonstrates an on going commitment to the safety, education of students throughout the city of san francisco and all three of them are valued members of our department. i've had the good fortune to work personally with dewayne. he does a lot, like our assistant fire marshal pruitt, on his own time. in 2005 he volunteered as a presenter for a fire department and rush burn foundation partnership program. he taught schoolchildren about fire safety. he believed in the power of the messages of the program so much,

that he took the lead role in 2012. the program used to be led by captain krieger. he has the energy to ensure the program's longevity and he has never wanted to see the program come to san end. he only wanted to see the program grow and reach more children. on his own time, he has gone well above and beyond for the san francisco fire department and has taught the curriculum to other fire departments across the state of program, so they too can have a similar program. between 9,000 and 12,500 school age children receive this presentation in san francisco alone. he heads that program. with some assistance. not only are their students getting the information once each year to reinforce the learning but they're encouraged to take the information home to their families. it provides the children confidence to know what to do in case of an emergency. not only for themselves but also for their families. as you know, in san francisco, there are a lot of english as a

second language where we're not even a language spoken at home. it empowers the students to go home with what they've learned and convey, sometimes not in english to their parents or grandparents what they've learned. we find that to be very powerful and not just the students but it's reaching thousands of more people because of this training. it empowers them to be proactive in their homes, to get smoke detectors and teach skills to their siblings. like the proper use of 9-1-1 versus 311. stop, drop and roll. in addition to giving them away to be embarrass doors for safety in their own homes. giving them a sense of personal responsibility. it introduces students to the fire personnel in their neighborhood, creating and maintaining a positive relationship between the community and fire department. that's why he is being acknowledged. over the summer, he received acknowledgment up in sack r saco and we had chief nickolson that represented the department as well as other members of the

department. all three members are going to be acknowledged at a dinner i'm going to next month by the american legion. that is dewayne. if you wanted to ask him questions now or you want me to go onto the incidents that keller and lane responded to, i'm happy to do whatever you had would like. >> an award richly deserved. thank you. >> thank you. >> continue? ok. so, we have fire fighter-paramedic matt lane here and stephen keller on the other part of eckert. this is why these two gentlemen are being awarded from the american legion. it was a split award. not sure why. i wouldn't have split it. matt received the award up in sacramento and both matt and steve are receiving the award locally in san francisco. both as firefighters and firefighters/paramedic of the year. let me read. i want to get it all in. in the early morning hours of

september 20th, 2017, a year ago, as engine 43 arrived on scene of what was described as a call for medical aid, the officer reported that a residential structure was heavily involved with fire, flames blowing out of the front windows the second floor of a two-storey building. as the crew put on equipment, a teenage boy approached matt lane advising him his parents were still in the house. firefighters lane asked for a location, which the young man was able to provide. as lane and keller quickly deployed a ready line and entered the building to search for the parents they heard a live wire fall between them and the firen again. firefighters keller waited for the water supply to begin fire suppression operations. lane advised him he was proceeding with the search and headed down the hallway. with zero visibility, lane conducted a right-hand search in the first room, proceeded to the second room and found a woman in

the corner refusing to move. lane quickly picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her out of the house which was one flight from the street level and then walked her out to the street as a second engine company arrived. lane returned to the search operation. keller, who had been fighting the fire, felt the fire was knocked down enough to leave his line and assist firefighters lane with the second patient. as they made their way towards the third room, keller noticed the flames quickly intensifying and had to turn back to protect. lane entered the third room and found an unconscious male slumped against a wall. he quickly began to drag the man down the hallway where the crew of the second engine company met him and assisted with the removal of the man from the building. lane began assisting the critically injured male with respirations with medical crews arrived to assume patient care. when lane returned to assist with fire suppression, the fire had been contained and

instrumentally by keller and operations were taking place. incredible, brave work by these two men. really all of the responders to that scene were quick-thinking, self less thinking and crewly team work in action. i'm very proud and thank you for letting me describe it. because, again, i think our members tend to downplay the heroic actions they take each and every day. i'd love you to ask them questions and congratulate them. i look forward to celebrating with you and your families next month. >> thank you, chief. [applause]

[laughter]

>> do any commissioners have any questions? do you wish to say anything further? >> actually, i would. i may be modest but i like to talk. everybody in this -- >> we'll start the timer now. >> ok, put me at three minutes. i'll be done by then. everybody in this room or everybody that is passed through

a fire station wants to be in the spot that steve and i were. it's fortunate for us that we were in that spot and we're happier than anybody in this room that we were in fact in that spot. don't be confused into thinking we're the only two people that could have accomplished that task. everybody from this station that i think is the best in the city, station 43, would have loved to be in that spot. that goes for all of the other stations in the city. every day someone does something outstanding. because you guys don't hear about it, don't think it doesn't happen. chief haze white asked if both of them -- both of the victim survived. they did survive. the first woman we got out was conscious when she came out. the second gentleman was unconscious. he survived because of the entire system. [ please please stand by ]

>> which is a paramedic scale, but having a nurse right by your side is very helpful. thank you for that. >> it did not help having someone a couple of inches taller than me either to help out. [laughter] >> thinking. commissioner veronese, you had a question? his. >> commissioner veronese: you remember it does she mention station 43 is the best and i am sure they are all the best stations. but you must be very proud of yourself. let me tell you, you were put in that situation and not everybody would have done what you had done. and not everybody that has been trained to do what you do would have done what you did. so you should be very proud of yourself.

your family should be proud of you. the san francisco family is certainly proud of you, which is one of the reasons why i enjoy doing these things, is because we get to show the real heroes and the people who are out there fighting the fires. and we don't hear about it as much. even as commissioners, we get text messages and we get updates on what is going on out in their fields but when you read it, it is never the same as what you guys have gone through. so it is my deepest appreciation to you for putting your lives on the line. for doing it every day and for doing it for us. because you don't do it for you. you don't get paid enough to do what you guys do. so my deepest appreciation, as a lifelong native san franciscan, i appreciate you being there while we sleep. and on behalf of san francisco, i thank you for what you do and what you did. >> thank you spee thank you commissioner.

commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: i think i got it straight. i said boy that was a screw up and nobody corrected me. it shows you how nice everybody is. i would think that steve would have been tapping on the shoulder with his strength and size. >> if you want to hear another story, i finish that off for you >> commissioner hardeman: go ahead. >> would call steve at no time steve because he has less than anyone else in this room. when we took -- when i took the hose off the engine and steve was upset that i was taking the hose from the front door so i could put out the fire, being with the no time, you didn't understand what was going on. so i dropped the line he picked

it up and he thought he got something. [laughter] >> i would rather have steve carry me out of a building that myself. steve would have been a person for -- for that. but luck of the draw. >> president cleaveland: thank you bose both. remarkable. saving lives. the best thing about it is anyone who picks up on this broadcast now or later can see what the fire department does and how you risk your lives to save people. i was just informed by a firefighter, when i congratulated on his 12,000 last year, he said last year was 15,000. congratulations to you and thank you for starting out as a volunteer, again, like fire marshal pruitt did and continuing. i find my life -- that firefighters seem to volunteer a lot. when i coached t-ball through eighth grade, you could always

count on firefighters being out there as coaches. and not just for baseball, but basketball as well. firefighters are great americans i think in this fire department, they are the greatest americans. thank you. >> thank you. >> president cleaveland: commissioner covington? >> commissioner covington: thank you, mr president. congratulations, gentlemen. i am happy that you were there and that everything worked out because, you know, i'm sure that that young boy was just terrified that his parents were still in that building and that you were able to bring them out safely. that is a tremendous accomplishment. and then, also, the burn foundation. i remember, what was it, four or five years ago we were talking about how to have more presence in the schools.

and now that is done. it was done three or four years ago, i think. that is when the commission heard about it. so that it is also a very important endeavour. thank you, so much for your service, all three of you. >> president cleaveland: thank you, commissioner covington. i would like to wrap up by saying, when i heard you were being recognized, i said we need to have these gentlemen come to the commission so that everyone in this room and everyone in our city can know what fine examples of our fire department we have. so i want to commend you for your valour and commend you for your service and thank you for being part of the san francisco fire department. >> thank you, sir,. [applause]

>> president cleaveland: is there any public comment on that item? being none, public comment is closed. let's ask our captain till men with the black firefighters association to come forward and give us a presentation on that fine organization. >> thank you, commissioners. if i may, i would be remiss if i did not bring up a couple things about the youth academy that were not brought up before the start. one was, as you can see, it is a very diverse group. and out of the 30, it is women, black, hispanic, asian, we have the rainbow coalition over there so we serve the whole community, not just a community in the bayview but all of san francisco the other thing is, we got funding this year from a grants

that came from melia cohen a couple of years back. and after this year, that grabs will be gone. so we do need some type of grant or funding for next year. and, also, i think one of the items i was talking about is equipment. we just recently had a meeting with the command staff and the chief and others. all were all in favor of getting us equipment. i have just been in contact with another chief to get that equipment for the youth academy. i would like to congratulate -- not congratulate but thank the command staff for that. they have been very supportive of the youth academy and i would like to thank everyone for expressing their support for the youth academy and going forward, we need to have money. [laughter] all right. san francisco black firefighters

, this is part of our executive board. we all just got elected here in may. we have been together about five months and this is our recording secretary firefighter, jacob pale. this is our sergeant of arms, john smith and our secretory -- secretary secretary, antoine davis. at the other members, a couple of them are on vacation at one took his mother out to dinner. so they could not be here. [laughter] >> by the other thing i would like to point out about these three young gentlemen is all three of them first started out as what we call executives at large. just getting to know how things are run and the way, -- of the new rebirth at the black firefighters will be. now they all have positions in executive -- not just a starting spot, but they all have -- he's

like third in charge and everybody gets all up there, just because the work they have been doing. i cannot express how happy i am to be working with these young men. it has really been a godsend, to be honest. so we have a short video that we will show because videos speak a lot louder than words. actions speak louder than words and then we will answer any questions and go from there. [♪] [♪]

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[♪] [♪] >> you can't imagine. you have fire, you have smoked, you have the crackling, there is yelling going on. you feel that you are alone. >> many of us came out because of their contributions and their unfailing optimism for the diverse fire departments. [♪]

>> those are some of the events that we have done over the summer. we did for backpack drives. we did a walk for sickle cell, we had a health fair for the neighborhood. street health checkups. we also were part of a backpack drive and a concerts. we did the burn relay. we have done quite a few other things. and i put that video in their up earl gage because he was the first black firefighter in san francisco. is one of the things that is important to all of us. that all that we are, we owe.

without him we would not be here and all these young gentlemen here wouldn't be here also. and i think it's important that we recognize him and try to get something in the fire department , either a plot, a name, a building, a street, something to honor his memory. but i would like to not sit up here and take up all the time. i would like to talk upset -- talk about some of our events and if you have any questions. >> president cleaveland: if you have any questions or anything else about things you saw or any questions at all. >> thank you very much. chief hayes-white, you would like to have a few words. >> commissioner hayes-white: i would like to acknowledge the black firefighters association under the leadership of captain tillman for the rebirth. i have not seen the new

headquarters. it looks amazing. great job. a fresh coat of paint and you're off to a great start. i believe i said at the last meeting, that i did report we matched with a black firefighters association executive board and how serious all of them are about getting involved, more involved in the community. there's a long history of the black firefighters association. is important to note that morning that captain tillman is the first president. there are definitely reasons why there was a division. he is a first president of the black firefighters association to his alkyl -- also a member of local 798. it says we have come a long way. but i am very proud of all the things you are endeavouring to do and you have already done. reaching out to the community, a great agenda that you put forward. as soon as sherman announced that he was taking over, he was very engaged. when we said we would like you to come in and have a meeting, it was a great meeting. i did let them know that you even brought a meal for the

deputies and i. also very kind and not needed. i did not hire that president but i'm really proud to say that i handpicked john, antoine and jacob. i'm really proud. they don't have that much time in the department and they are already making huge, huge contributions. i know all of you have a bright future and i really appreciate you when you come to work each and every day but taking on these leadership roles. we talked about excellent role models for those that come after you. and i know that antoine, you told us that day. my memory is decent but not as good as it used to be. you are just embarking upon next week which will be a 25th. is not right great born in 1993. i remembered to because you are to release younger than my son. i'm really proud of the work. we really look forward to the

combined efforts. thank you. thank you to the youth fire academy, training, potential members of our department. great job. >> thank you, chief. commissioner hardeman? >> commissioner hardeman: you are filling big shoes with the battalion chief smith who you are taking over for. and bringing 18 young people. -- and bringing in the young people. i was very young when i started. it was a big advantage when i got older because i had a lot of aggression when i was young and i had to calm down a little as i learned the job a little more. i watched your program last night. i don't know if anyone saw it, on the mayo clinic. it was fascinating. ken burns cocky is one of those public t.v. people. the mayi