SFFD reports four greater alarms in March; warns Cap Street barriers still limit access and office-to-residential conversions could strain permit workload

Deputy Chief Robert Postel presented the department's March operations: 20 working fires, nine water rescues, one cliff rescue and four greater alarms on March 3, 5, 17 and 27. Postel described each greater-alarm incident and credited on-scene incident commanders and coordinated tactics for preventing larger losses and for rescuing trapped civilians.

Postel said the Bureau of Fire Prevention participates on several street-design committees with MTA and DPW to evaluate traffic-calmingmeasures and their impact on emergency access, and he mentioned a joint study with MTA that will be updated at the next meeting on April 26.

Fire Marshal Ken Coughlin told commissioners office-to-residential conversion work is still in the planning phase and said preliminary estimates suggest a large potential conversion pool (Coughlin cited classifications and an early estimate that immediate conversions could total on the order of 4,700 units within a larger universe that had been described as up to 30,000,000 square feet). Coughlin said those numbers are projections and not finalized, and he warned the department would struggle to handle a sudden influx of permit reviews without additional staffing.

Commissioners also pressed the department on Cap Street, where concrete K-rails remain in place. Postel said bollards have been ordered and were at the top of the vendor queue, but there was no confirmed installation date; the concrete barriers remain in place and continue to limit access.

Commissioners praised crewsfor March incident responses and raised staffing, permitting and public-safety questions tied to rapid housing conversions and temporary street infrastructure. Postel and the fire marshal said they are coordinating with DBI, Planning and the mayor's office to finalize parameters and staffing needs ahead of anticipated applications.