safe. -- one nation under god, indivisible with peace and justice for all. >> president cleaveland: thank you. >> this is a reminder to silence all electronic devices. the fire commission regular meeting, once turkey -- wednesday september 26th, and the time is 5:00 pm. item one, rollcall. [roll call]

>> clerk: item two, general public comment. members of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes on any matter within the jurisdiction and does not appear on the agenda. speakers shall address their remarks to the commission as a whole and not to individual commissioners or department personnel. commissioners are not to enter into debate or discussion with the speaker. the lack of a response by the commissioner his or department personnel does not necessarily constitute an agreement with or support of statements made during public comment. >> president cleaveland: is there any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. madam secretary? >> clerk: item three, approval of the minutes. discussion and possible action to improve the regular minute meeting -- minutes from the meeting on september 12th, 2018. >> president cleaveland: s. or any public comment on the minutes?

seeing none, public comment is closed. what is your pleasure, commissioners? >> excuse me, move with a slight modification. >> president cleaveland: ok. >> to section five, in the last sentence of that section, it says commissioner veronese explained his position and it goes on. i would like to add that i supported the call by commissioner covington to have the retreat and to review the mayor's priorities as we did several days ago. >> clerk: what page we. >> commissioner veronese: it is page 6. the very bottom of the page. it starts with item number 6. you could add in the sentence. >> president cleaveland: do i have a second for the changes?

>> commissioner hardeman: second. >> president cleaveland: all in favour of adopting the changes essay aye. >> aye. >> president cleaveland: all in favour of approving the minutes as amended? >> aye. >> president cleaveland: they are approved. >> ok we will take item five out of order. as we wait for paramedic, matt lane to arrive. item five. presentation from the black firefighters association on their goals as well as an update on the san francisco fire youth academy. >> good evening. good evening fire commissioners, chief joanne hayes white and command staff and any distinguished gets -- asks.

my name is sherman i'm a captain at station to. i'm president of the san francisco black firefighters. today we want to give you some information on our youth academy i will start a short, three minutes video and then we will bring up our youth director fire marshal to answer any questions and give further information. >> clerk: can we please go to the laptop? [♪] [♪]

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[♪] >> president cleaveland: very nice, captain. >> so that was just a little video of some of the things we have been doing this year. now i would like to bring up our director, assistant fire marshal , tyrone pruitt. >> thank you captain captain. good afternoon fire commissioners and chief and our members and community that is here at this mission. it is a plant pleasure and an honour to come before you with our fire youth academy. this academy has been in progress 15 years and the first thing i want to do is i want to

thank the chiefs for all of the support that the fire department has given us over the years. back when things were a little bit harder and we were in need of a lot of equipment in financing. thank you to the fire department for your support. one of the traditions of the youth academy, other than building our youth for a position in fire service and other careers, we give them an opportunity to take on leadership roles. at with that said, i want to bring up our academy and family members. come on up, please youth academy , please come up. >> president cleaveland: they are afraid you will make them speak. >> with that said, the board presentation today will be presented by one of our cadet leaders. she will give you a presentation on the history and background and the goals of the fire youth academy. thank you.

>> thank you. good evening,, everyone. i am 16 years old and currently a junior at el camino high school. i hold the rank of second lieutenant in the fire youth academy. today, i will be informing you about the fire youth academy history, and what we do in this program. the san francisco fire youth academy was established in 2003 by the san francisco black firefighter association under the leadership of it's director and the assistant director inspector. in 2004, at the assistant fire marshal took over the academy and continues to service the academy today. academy meets on every saturday except holiday weekends. from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. the academy is currently running from march through november. however, after graduation on november 9th, 2018, it will return to the regular schedule

running from september until june. our academy currently, in middle school and high school range from ages 13 to 18 years old. the academy teaches and trains cadets about the fire service and also provides different opportunities to grow. our training includes firefighting subject to one matter, the basic fire department operations, organization and also, cadet training in first aid and medical response. we also learn about nonspecific fire service material such as government structure, financial management, social conduct, and health and nutrition. the program allows for hands-on training under the supervision of the six professional firefighters, paramedics, school teachers and the san francisco unified school district and other members of the community. the program focuses on early preparation for careers in fire and emergency medical service

but is also provided guidance and leadership development skills that can be applied to any profession. the academy has grown to include any importance in the emergency medical service injury and general career development. the academy reruns as an academic base program. over the last 15 years, it has provided training and mentoring over -- two over 370 youths in the san francisco bay area. the cadets have graduated from this program and went to pursue careers in the fire service. higher education and other professions. speaking about graduates, i would like to present diego perez. >> good evening. i was part of the youth academy for eight years before graduating in 2014. and there has been nothing more influential in my life as an adult than this program that is

taking place behind me, the lessons that i learned from things beyond the fire department including financial management and government and managing things like debt and loans and borrowing more money as opposed to earning it and stuff like that that the captain drilled into me have carried on far beyond my days on saturday afternoons and carried out to multiple successes i have had in my life. i'm currently awaiting acceptance from san francisco state to attend their communications department, communications program as a broadcast major. and my career choice as a journalist was also heavily influenced by my time in the fire youth academy. like i said, all the impacts and the exposure i had to think outside of the department allowed me to direct myself to journalism and to be a member of the media. i would first and foremost like to thank the chief chiefs and the youth academy for everything

they provided for me and thank you, once again for giving me this opportunity to express my gratitude. thank you. >> now we will have some cadets he will speak about the personal experience. >> good evening, commissioners and chief. i name is joanna and i'm a freshman at a level high school. i will be in my fourth year and it will be my fourth year in the program and i am the staff sergeant. this program has not only given me insight and training into the fire service, but it has taught me to be a better leader and other lessons applicable to life such as how to make a good impression at an interview or how to publicly speak. i feel this program is a big part of who i am at a recommend it to all my friends at school. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening, everyone. i have been in this program for

six months. i was first brought a the board in march and from this program, i have learned a lot of skills that i can transition over to my adult life as a just recently graduated from high school and currently attending city college skills i learned from this program such as first aid and financial literacy, like the skills that this program has taught me have been so much more beneficial to me, it has benefited me outside the program as well. thank you. >> good evening park everyone. i am 18 years old. i graduated from galileo high school last spring. i'm currently attending san francisco state university as a freshman. i have been enrolled in the program since a sixth grade and i'm currently the commander of the academy. throughout my eight years of experience, i have in place in numerous leadership positions that have allowed me to grow as a team leader and an individual.

from being this shy introvert that i once was to becoming their role model that younger kids can look up to. i feel grateful for all the opportunities and knowledge this program has given me. from all the hands-on training and lesson plans in first aid, i was inspired to extend my career options into the medical field. thus leading me to pursue a career in nursing. looking past all the ups and downs that may occur in this program, i can always look forward to the comfortable and open environment that this program provides. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners and chief. i am a volunteer here with the youth academy. i have been volunteering here as a cadet graduate first and i have been with the academy for eight years and still going

strong, showing up every saturday. it is really important to me and has paved the way towards the fire service because that was my ultimate dream. that is what i wanted to do is work for the fire department. so as a high school student, where do i start? how do i do this? where do i go? so, joining the black firefighter youth academy i looked up cadet programs and youth programs that i could join and i found the black firefighter youth academy with a councillor at my high school, gateway high school. i started in 2010 and i graduated high school in 2012. it really paves the way to go to college. city college of san francisco. influenced by other members of bfa. it really influenced me to take more classes. also, helped prepare me to go

into the academy at city college of san francisco and really, being disciplined, ironing your stuff, being on time, and just knowing all the basics of firefighting. as a graduate, i'm still achieving my ultimate goal to join the fire department. and currently i am on the list right now. so it would be a pleasure to be the first graduate of this program to actually get hired by the fire department, somewhere. i know many of us have gone in the program and i believe nobody has actually gotten picked up by eight a department yet. not because they don't want to, but because different career goals come in line. as you heard, nursing, journalism, we all have our path and this is what i want to do.

to me, this really influenced me and helped me build resumes and helped me go on interviews confidently, whether it be with the fire department or whether it be outside as an emt, or anywhere else i go. i need to build that confidence and have that ethical standpoint in being confident and just being happy with what i am doing thank you. >> when i first joined the academy, it was exactly four years ago. to me, it was just like yesterday. the first thing that the chief asked me was what do you want to be when you grow up? and that day, it i just kept thinking. i honestly did not know. after the academy, little by little i started liking the academy. i was happy i woke up at seven in the morning and stayed there for five hours because i learn something every single day. it helped me in the academy and

outside of the academy. each day that i go to the academy, i feel confident. when i joined the first day, i was the opposite. i felt like i did not have a voice or that no one really cared. but the chiefs showed me that was wrong. my voice does matter as long as i speak loud and confident. but i also love the academy and that the kids are like my second family. we all work as a team and we all help each other out. we are like one big family. when it is graduation, we get sad because some of us leave. last year, we were learning about c.p.r. and fire extinguishing and that moment hit me. i want to become a firefighter because i love doing it. it is something i am passionate about. and i want to be in the future and study fire science. becoming a firefighter is my goal and i know i can succeed if i try my very best. that is what the academy means to me. it is something that will help me in the future, even outside of high school.

thank you. >> thank you for indulging us and listening to our young people talk about their experience in the academy and their goals. but i also want to recognize some of the parents here. could the parent stand up? 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 ]