SFFD homeland security chiefs outline APEC planning, regional exercises and drone program

Assistant Deputy Chief Erica Arteseros Brown and Deputy Chief Tom O'Connor told the San Francisco Fire Commission that the San Francisco Fire Department is intensifying regional exercises and cross-agency planning ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and other large events.

Erica Arteseros Brown, who leads the department's homeland security work, said her unit is the department's planning arm for terrorism risk and large-scale events. "I am essentially the planning arm of our department for terrorism," she said, describing coordination with federal, state and local partners including FEMA, the California Office of Emergency Services and the city's Department of Emergency Management. She said planners are working with the Secret Service, which is the lead for APEC security, "but they don't bring personnel — they look to the locals for the personnel" the city will need.

Deputy Chief Tom O'Connor reviewed recent training and preparedness activity, including Cal OES exercises, a U.S. Coast Guard water-rescue drill and a 59-person provisional-offer boot camp. O'Connor also described the Fire Candidate Training Center's new testing schedule: a written exam is set for June 17, with an application deadline of June 30 for that testing cycle.

Both chiefs described capabilities being expanded now. Arteseros Brown outlined a drone program built under homeland security grants, a cadre of seven operators she hopes to increase, and continuing ties to FEMA California Task Force 3 for heavy-rescue capabilities. She noted multiagency exercises run through regional training programs such as the Bay Area Training and Exercise Program and civil support team drills, and said the department is preparing for recurring events including Fleet Week and a planned September ferry exercise.

Arteseros Brown told the commission that APEC — scheduled by planners for roughly Nov. 12–18 — has been assigned NSSE-level risk because of the potential presence of many heads of state, and that planning already involves more than a dozen city and department committees. "The level of risk for this event is called NSSE," she said, and that the mayor's office is working with the department on budget expectations for the extra local resources the event will require.

Commissioners asked how often the department can participate in large-scale exercises; Arteseros Brown and O'Connor said the department typically has the opportunity two to three times a year for multi-agency exercises and will take advantage of collaborative training when it is available.

Why it matters: The chiefs framed APEC as a resource-intensive, multiagency effort that will require detailed local planning and additional personnel. The department's investments in training, a drone operator cadre and ties to FEMA Task Force 3 are presented as efforts to increase surge capacity for both planned civic events and unplanned emergencies.

Next steps: Commissioners will continue oversight and ask departmental leaders for updates on budget implications and staffing plans as APEC and other large events approach.