Like
all San Francisco firefighters, the crew at Station 24
on Hoffman Avenue, which includes (left to right) Tim
Farmer, Nick Holl, Dave Lester, and Privado Gumabay,
works around the clock to maintain equipment, teach
safety, and reduce response time to fires and other
emergencies. Photo by Pamela
Gerard
Capt. Jim
O’Connell gives a tour of Truck 11, which is equipped with
GPS and a computer used to talk with Dispatch.Photo by Pamela Gerard
With its steep hills, narrow
streets, balloon-frame houses, gusty winds, and tangles of
overhead wires, Noe Valley might be considered a lousy place
to be a firefighter.
Far from it. Judging by the high
morale and low turnover at the neighborhood’s two
firehouses—Station 11 on 26th Street near Church, and Station
24 at Hoffman Avenue and Alvarado Street—the men and women
assigned to the local turf welcome the challenges.
Built in 1958, the 26th Street
station is home to Truck 11, an aerial-ladder rig with a crew
of five. It also sports Engine 11, a pumper with a crew of
four; a rescue captain; and the Battalion 6 chief.
The average tenure of the crew
is about 15 years, according to Capt. Jim O’Connell of Truck
11. “We have a wide range of experience, from rookies to
veterans,” said O’Connell, 41. “But there are very few with
less than 10 years at the station.”
Exceptions include O’Connell
himself, a 17-year department veteran who transferred in
February from Station 16 in the Marina.
“There’s really small turnover,”
said Lt. Dave Murray of Engine 11. “I think there’s been only
one vacancy [here] in the last year out of 40 assigned.”
Not all stations are blessed
with such popularity. Some firefighters may transfer half a
dozen times before they feel at home. But that’s not the case
in Noe Valley.
Station 24 up on Hoffman also
has a veteran crew. On the day the Voice visited,
Engine 24 was commanded by Lt. Tim Farmer, a 20-year SFFD
veteran. Two of the crew members—firefighter-paramedic Nick
Holl and firefighter Dave Lester—each had 16 years under their
belt. Of them, Lester had been at the station the
longest—eight years.
“I love the neighborhood,” said
Holl. “It’s like [Main Street] in Disneyland. The buildings are beautiful.
People take good care of their property.
“See that place over there?”
he asked, pointing at a Victorian cottage across from the
station. “I’d love a house like that, but I can’t afford it,”
said Holl, who lives in San Mateo.
The
98-year-old firehouse at 100 Hoffman Ave., housing Engine
24, was designed by John Reid Jr.Photo by Pamela Gerard
Fire-Engine Red and Burgundy
Built in 1914 and enlarged in
1997, Station 24 houses two reserve pumpers in addition to
Engine 24. Like other rigs that joined the force in 2006—the
centennial of the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire—it is
painted a burgundy shade rather than traditional fire-engine
red.
Stations 11 and 24, along with
Station 7 in the Mission, Station 32 in Bernal Heights, and
Station 26 in Diamond Heights, are all assigned to Battalion
6. Their primary area of responsibility stretches from the
eastern slope of Twin Peaks to the Mission District and Bernal
Heights and from Eureka Valley to Diamond Heights. They may
also be dispatched to fires farther afield, like the
early-morning, four-alarm blaze that destroyed several West
Portal businesses on Oct. 12.
The firefighters work 24-hour
shifts, starting at 8 a.m., followed by 48 hours off. Mornings
begin with the testing and cleaning of equipment, followed by
training or inspections of schools, nursing homes,
convalescent centers, and apartment buildings.
“I’ve been inside Alvarado
School so many times I could probably get around the halls
blindfolded,” said Engine 24’s Holl.
That familiarity could save
lives in the event of a fire, when thick, black smoke could
reduce visibility to zero.
Wires and Ladders Don’t Mix
Crews often drive around the
neighborhood to get the lay of the land, locate and test
hydrants, and familiarize themselves with peculiarities, such
as Noe Valley’s many dead-end streets and stairways.
“All the overhead wires make
Noe Valley one of the most difficult places in the city for
aerial ladders,” said Truck 11’s O’Connell. “If we can’t get
under the wires, we have to use a 50-foot ladder, which takes
six men to put up.”
Firefighters also look for
hazards. They are particularly wary of downslope structures,
which may have several stories below grade level that can’t be
seen from the street. It was in just such a home on Berkeley
Way that two veteran firefighters from Station 26 lost their
lives in June 2011.
Trips often include stops at
the Diamond Heights Safeway for groceries. All firefighters
carry radios, so they can respond immediately in the event of
a call while they’re away from the rig. A computer terminal in
each cab keeps dispatchers on Turk Street informed of their
status—e.g., “In Quarters,” “En Route,” or “On Scene”—and GPS
devices pinpoint their location.
It’s Okay to Knock
Station routine is governed by
the daily duty roster, which designates cooking chores and day
and night watches. The watches monitor communications and
answer the phone and doorbell. More than once has someone come
to the door in the middle of the night to report an emergency,
said firefighter Privado Gumabay, who’s been at Station 24 for
41/2 years.
Everyone pulls cooking duty,
although officers are sometimes spared having to clean up the
kitchen. The designated cook is responsible for planning and
preparing lunch and dinner; everyone chips in to buy
groceries. A recent lunch at Station 24 featured pulled-pork
sandwiches, coleslaw, warm-from-the-oven peanut butter cookies
and fresh French roast coffee. The 1997 remodel gave the
station a spacious kitchen that would be the envy of any home
chef.
“Having officers help plan,
shop for, and cook meals is a long-standing tradition,” said
Capt. O’Connell. “It’s all about teamwork.”
Afternoons feature more
training, sometimes at the department’s seven-story tower at
19th and Folsom streets or at the fire academy on Treasure
Island. Regardless of their assignment, all firefighters are
trained as pump and aerial-ladder operators and as emergency
medical technicians. Specialized training might include
trench-rescue procedures.
“We don’t fight fires every
day. It can be a month or two between fires. So we train to
maintain our skills,” said Engine 24’s Holl.
Really Slow or ‘Really Crazy’
“Some days it’s really slow,
some days it’s really crazy,” said Murray, a fourth-generation
firefighter who was a paramedic in Oakland before joining
Engine 11 eight years ago.
One of the crazy days was Oct.
12, when Engine 11 was dispatched to a fire in the Mission at
1:54 a.m. No sooner had they put out the fire, rolled up their
hoses, and returned to the station than they were dispatched
to the West Portal fire.
The following
Tuesday-Wednesday shift was busy as well, with the station log
showing seven 911 calls and a fire at 2:30 a.m.
The vast majority of 911 calls
involve medical emergencies, said Murray. Department protocol
calls for both an engine and an ambulance to be dispatched.
Because they’re located in every neighborhood, engine
companies are often closer than the nearest available
ambulance and are usually the first to arrive.
Firefighter-paramedics can quickly assess the victim’s
condition and administer CPR or apply pressure to wounds until
an ambulance arrives. Friday nights are especially busy.
When not on calls or in
training, firefighters can work out on exercise equipment, do
laundry, play ping-pong and pool, or watch television. After 9
p.m., everyone except the night watch is free to get some
shuteye in the upstairs dormitory. Officers each have small
quarters that double as offices and bedrooms.
Seven Women on Staff
Aside from separate lockers
and shower rooms, male and female firefighters share
facilities. Station 11 has five women assigned, including a
lieutenant and a firefighter-paramedic. At Station 24, there
are 16 men and two women, including a firefighter paramedic.
Murray’s Engine 11 company
includes two women—driver Dana Pompeo, a 16-year SFFD veteran,
and firefighter-paramedic Tracy O’Keeffe, a 14-year veteran.
“I was attending City College
and unsure of what I wanted to do,” said Pompeo, of Pacifica.
“There was a job fair on campus and the Fire Department had a
table. There was a big push to recruit women. I had not really
thought about being a firefighter, but it’s been good.”
While O’Keeffe lives in Noe
Valley and O’Connell and Lester live elsewhere in the city,
many firefighters live farther away. Murray, for example,
commutes from Auburn in the Sierra foothills.
Still, they say they feel a
kinship with the community, particularly with the school
groups that tour the stations.
“Visiting the firehouse must
be part of the curriculum,” joked Engine 24’s Holl. “But
seriously, it gives us a chance to talk about safety. And the
little ones love to climb up in the cab and ring the bell.”
Firefighters also prepare food
for community events, run a holiday toy program, and donate
blood three times a year. “The guys also grew mustaches to
raise funds for the burn center,” recalled Murray. “And
firefighters and their spouses often socialize outside of
work, including taking a trip to San Diego together.”
While firehouses no longer
have Dalmatians, which were said to have a calming effect on
the horses that once pulled firefighting equipment, some
things haven’t changed. Firefighters still slide down shiny
brass poles from their sleeping quarters. And they still
respond to calls to rescue kittens in trees. n
Be Safe—Protect Yourself from
Fire
“An ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure.”
—Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, best known today as a Founding Father, was
also founder of Philadelphia’s Union Fire Company, the world’s
first fire department. Were he alive today, his Poor
Richard’s Almanack and blog might contain these
tips on keeping you and your family safe from fire:
¥ Don’t overload circuits, and
avoid extension cords when possible. If you must use them, do
not place cords and wires under rugs or tack them to walls. If
a cord or appliance sputters, sparks, or emits an unusual
smell, unplug it.
¥ Never place portable space
heaters near flammable materials, such as furniture, bedding,
and drapes.
¥ Keep matches and lighters out
of the reach of children. Store them up high, preferably in a
locked cabinet.
¥ Place candles in non-tip
candleholders before you light them and be sure to extinguish
them before leaving the house or going to bed.
¥ Never smoke in bed or leave
burning cigarettes unattended.
¥ Don’t leave cooking food
unattended on the stove or in the oven. If you must leave the
kitchen temporarily, set a timer.
¥ Keep the stove and oven clean
and free of grease. In the event of a fire, put a lid over the
flames.
¥ Make sure the fireplace is
equipped with a sturdy metal or glass screen. Have the chimney
checked before each heating season and make repairs as
necessary.
¥ Never empty smoldering coals
or ashes into a trash can.
¥ Prepare an escape plan for
every room of your home and have the whole family practice
getting out. Select a place where everyone can gather after
escaping the house.
¥ Be sure there are smoke and
carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of the house. Replace
the batteries annually.
¥ If you use a natural Christmas
tree, place it at least three feet from fireplaces, furnaces,
and other heat sources; water the tree regularly; and keep lit
candles away from the tree or other decorations.
¥ Keep trees no longer than four
weeks and dispose of them properly.
At a
Sept. 19 apartment fire on Noe Street (see Voice
November 2012 issue), trucks with aerial ladders had to
steer clear of utility wires to safely reach the
building’s upper floors. Narrow hilly streets are
also a hazard in Noe Valley. Photo
by Pamela Gerard
