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San Francisco Fire Department history
San Francisco Fire Department company history timeline
During April 1866, the Board of Supervisors purchased four steam fire engines and one hose reel from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, New Hampshire.
On October 6, 1866 Franklin E. R. Whitney was appointed Chief Engineer; H.W. Burckes, First Assistant Chief; and Charles H. Ackerson, Second Assistant Chief.
The Department went into active operation on December 3, 1866, making it the first paid Fire Department West of the Mississippi.
Established in 1866, the San Francisco Fire Department is rich in tradition and history.
In 1866, the board of supervisors created a municipal fire department for San Francisco.
The Great Fire, which followed the SF earthquake of 1906, also killed the SFFD Chief, Dennis Sullivan, who died when his fire station collapsed.
In 1906, the department was considered on a par with those of the larger cities on the East Coast, but found itself reduced to fighting the fire of 1906 in the quake aftermath with axes and shovels, as most of the city's water mains were broken and cisterns drained.
The Fire Reserve Is Established Recognizing the need for a resource like the London AFS to call upon, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved Section 7.11 of the Administrative Code establishing the Fire Auxiliary Reserve in late 1941.
Joining in 1941, Keith Calden was one of the earliest members of the Fire Reserve.
In 1955, Earl Gage Jr. was hired as the first Black firefighter.
Building on his experience with the Fire Reserve, Calden became a firefighter with the SFFD, ultimately rising to the rank of Chief of the Department in 1971.
In 1997, the Department of Public Health Paramedic Division was incorporated into the SFFD, resulting in the SFFD becoming one of San Francisco’s ambulance providers for EMS care in the city boundaries.
BeyondChron.org revealed that in 2004, “approximately 25% of calls for fire suppression are false alarms”.
2014, retrieved from www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/A-day-with-S-F-s-Fire-Engine-1-the-busiest-5859683.php.
2015, retrieved from www.thesfnews.com/sffd-engine-1-ranked-busiest-in-nation/22197.
Sutro has been recommended to be closed following a 2016 study by arcgis.com, based on the lowest number of fire and non-fire related calls in the city.
Finally, the draft strategic plan urged new purchases in equipment, vehicles, PPEE facilities and personnel so as to remain “a World-Class Fire Department.” (Fire Commission General Meeting 08-10-2016.)
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San Francisco Fire Department competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) | - | $500.0M | 15,000 | - |
| Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department | - | $280.0M | 20,159 | - |
| LAFD | 1886 | $1.0M | 3,574 | - |
| Orange County Fire Authority | 1995 | $99,999 | 50 | 9 |
| Sauk County | 1844 | $20.0M | 350 | - |
| California Public Utilities Commission | - | - | 1,218 | - |
| Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources | - | $170.0M | 3,000 | - |
| Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission | 2010 | $3.3M | 51 | - |
| Cook County Treasurer | - | $9.2M | 59 | 1 |
| Youth UpRising | 2005 | $10.0M | 2 | - |
San Francisco Fire Department history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of San Francisco Fire Department, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about San Francisco Fire Department. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at San Francisco Fire Department. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by San Francisco Fire Department. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of San Francisco Fire Department and its employees or that of Zippia.
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