SFFD reports two greater-alarm fires in April, highlights training gains and new regional USAR effort

San Francisco — At its May 22 meeting, the San Francisco Fire Department reported two greater-alarm incidents in April and outlined training and interagency work the department says are improving field outcomes.

Deputy Chief Darius Ledger described a house fire at 689 Kansas Street (Potrero Hill) that required a second alarm after crews discovered heavy involvement in void spaces and challenging attic conversions. Ledger said crews were able to save the primary structure and limit spread to adjacent homes after striking a second alarm to increase resources. "Once fire is in these spaces, there's no practical way to suppress the fire except for removing all of the cladding to the walls and ceiling," he said, describing tactics used to control the blaze.

The second reported greater alarm occurred at a building under construction, a fire initially reported as four floors involved. The department employed a "transitional" attack — ladder pipes to hold the fire to the building of origin while assessing interior conditions — and later resumed interior operations; one injury was reported at that incident.

Ledger highlighted other operational items: a rise in outside fires, an ongoing push to increase the validity of national fire incident reporting data, improved coordination with the Municipal Transportation Agency (including a new MTA liaison to help streamline project reviews and traffic-preemption planning), and the department's work on autonomous-vehicle policy and coordination with state and federal partners. He said the department testified on AB 1777 in Sacramento and expects related regulatory and code changes to continue moving through the Legislature.

Training and staffing were recurring themes: Ledger noted the division of training is managing 101 probationary members and that the department signed a letter of intent to develop a regional urban search-and-rescue (USAR) task force. Commissioners commended firefighters' rescue work and asked technical questions about construction hazards, arrest statistics tied to fire investigations (Ledger confirmed three arson arrests for April) and continued outreach.

What happens next: Ledger said investigators and training units will continue monitoring trends and that the department will report monthly suppression statistics and follow up on MTA coordination and the USAR task force rollout.