>> good morning, everybody. my name is carmen chu, and i serve as san francisco city administrator, and i am so, so, so glad to be with you here today. when people were saying, well, all of the units are going to combine, get stuck, i'm like huh? how is that going to happen? when i came in here, how amazing is this facility. in my new role as city administrator, i look forward to making sure that all of the san francisco firefighters continue to have the equipment for the jobs that you continue

to do. again, i want to thank you and commend you for your service. you're going to hear from our mayor, mayor breed, is here today. i think our president of our board of supervisors is going to be joining us, shamann walton, chief nicholson, and sandra tong. so i'd like to welcome the first speaker today, which is our very own mayor breed. i think as everybody knows, she doesn't need very much in terms of introduction but someone who has been a long supporter of the fire department from her time on the fire commission, on the board of supervisors, and now as mayor. mayor breed? [applause] >> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, carmen. it is so great to finally be

here. this project is a long time coming. clearly, it's important because we have a quorum of thefire commission joining us here, and we'll get to you today. station 49, tom o'connor, when i was on the board of supervisors, i remember tom coming to my office and harassing me about the need for changes to station 49. not just rehabbing the existing facility, but the fact it is an absolute need of what our e.m.t.s and paramedics deal with every single day. we're talking about over 90,000 calls a year to respond to people who are in need in san francisco, and the fact is, that's a large volume. but the fact is we know all the work that goes into that. whether it's staffing up with fuel or supplies or resources

or what have you, it's a lot of work, and not to mention the shifts and the long hours and the need to have a place to go to just basically sit down for one minute to relax after going through maybe a tough call. this is a long time coming for this city and this department, and i am so excited that we are able to do it right here in the bayview-hunters point community. in particular, what i'm most excited about is not only is this a brand-new facility, but it is seismically safe, so we can feel safe when we are using this particular place. thanks to the voters in 2016, and thanks to many of the members of the san francisco fire department who helped to campaign for that ballot measure, $50 million invested into this new facility. state of the art, for food, for

fuel, a place to relax, a place to park the vehicles and everything that's needed, and everything that we need to keep san francisco safe. this station is critical to public safety, but more importantly, it's critical to protect people's lives on a daily basis. i'm grateful to the critical response team and the response of everyone that responds when we need them. it's a great celebration. i know it's a long time coming. starting years ago, when i was on the board of supervisors and tom o'connor was head of the union, and now changes to the department. we have a great new chief, we have a great local leader in

798, recognizing there's work that needs to be done. we appreciate your work and your dedication and being here to celebrate this milestone. we should be so proud of what we've been able to do, and i want to say congratulations to the men and women specifically of station 49 who have long suffered over the years at their aging facility which i think is not too far from here, and now they have the opportunity to be in a great space so that they can continue to do this important work. what i mentioned earlier, we're in the bayview-hunters point community. joining us today is the president of the board of supervisors. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome shamann walton. [applause] >> president walton: thank you so much, madam mayor, and first of all, i just want to say welcome to district 10. it is always amazing to

celebrate something like this in your own community. i apologize. i was sitting in the car because i was actually on budget right now, but i couldn't miss this opportunity to say thank you to our community and thank you to our first responders. there is nothing more important than having the ability to save lives, so this state of the art facility right here in our backyard is one of the most important things that we can provide for members of san francisco. so i am happy to be here for the ribbon cutting. as the mayor said, it was a long time coming. i want to thank station 49 for putting up with all the construction, with all the changes in shifts as we went through the process to get here, but this is a beautiful place. now we have the state of the art facility to be able to do the things that we need across the city. as i look around and see all of

our firefighters that are here, i just want to commend you for your service and dedication to saving lives here in san francisco. there's nothing more important than being able to do that, and i want you to know how much we appreciate you, how much we support you, and how much we will continue to work together to give you what you need to provide the service that you provide here in san francisco. thank you all so much. it's a great celebration today, and i apologize that i'm going to have to rush off and get back to budget, but i want you to know that i appreciate you. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, president walton. yes, it is the busiest time of year for our board of supervisors and president walton's office. commissioners, appreciate your being here, and i just want to

acknowledge that we are missing our -- one of our commissioners, who died last week, tony rodriguez, so if we can all just take a moment and think good thoughts for his family. i also want to take a moment to acknowledge sean buford, the president of the board of supervisors -- sherman tillman is here, as is the president of our rescue captain, paramedic rescue captains, kevin choker. if i've left anyone out, i humbly apologize. i'm terrible at thanking anyone. one person i really want to thank, chief dewitt from our support services stepped in in the middle of this project. she wrangled this together, and

she's just done a great job. she's super organized, and i want to thank my sister, kathleen, the project manager. all the way through, kathleen, we felt like you had our back, and thank you for seeing this through all the way from 2015, 2016, something like that. it means a lot. and thank you to all the e.m.t.s and paramedics and 49ers who have -- just keep on going out and doing the work that needs to be done. and i know this is a great step in the right direction for e.m.s. in the san francisco fire department, and i can't wait to see what more we can do, and with that, i want to introduce assistant deputy chief sandy tong, who is the assistant deputy chief of e.m.s., and i couldn't have picked a better person for this role, and she actually came out

of retirement to do this, so i appreciate her like no one, so chief tong, would you like to say a few words? >> honorable mayor breed, board of supervisors president walton, president of the fire commission feinstein, fire command staff, and members of station 49, well come to our new station 49. 146 years ago, the city of san francisco created one of the first ambulance services in san

francisco that brings us to this benchmark today. after 126 years, the practice of bringing service to the streets is no longer novel novel. but it has evolved over the years providing services. with on going commitment, we look forward to not only having the ability to maintain this service but to have the capacity to protect the vulnerable, respond to the unthinkable, and providing top quality services as a leader to the nation. while much of the world was put on hold, we asked our members to do more. right now, the men and women of station 49 are out there serving the people and doing the work. right now, a 49er is holding a patient's hand as they face

sadness, injury, or disease. right now, they're racing across the city to face a shooting, a choking, a childbirth. they are bearing witness to sadness, grief, and loss in the most challenging of circumstances. they are on the streets bringing order to chaos, comfort to fear, soothing to pain, and calm to tension. so while we are here to celebrate with gratitude the opening of the new station 49 which represents a commitment of the city and county of san francisco to emergency medical services, it's the community medical services who have shown up to give action to the mission. thank you to all of our city partners for making this station possible and for your on going support of these public servants and the mission we serve. [applause] >> thank you very much, deputy

chief tong for really sharing the day-to-day details of the men and women of the fire department. and now i really want to unveil the ribbon that's going to come forward. before, i want to recognize our commissioners. commissioner covington, commissioner and judge feinstein, commissioner cleaveland, and commissioner nakajo. thank you so much for joining us today. >> the hon. london breed: are we ready? okay. five, four, three, two, one. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: it's official. >> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together

like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up.

i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like

how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they

understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the

highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population.

we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station

and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids,

find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. >> present.oner.

>> michele gile. >> present. >> commissioner chung. >> present. >> commissioner. >> present. >> welcome everyone and thank you. >> [dan bernal, president] thank you very much and i'm going to talk and try to continue this hoping my bandwidth will improve. the next item on the agenda's approval of the health commission meeting june 1st, 2021. the