Mayor Lurie Participates in Emergency Preparedness Exercise, Demonstrates Innovative Firefighting Technology

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today participated in a multiagency emergency preparedness exercise, a critical part of the city’s efforts to ensure that public safety departments and residents are ready in the event of an emergency. The exercise featured an operational drill at San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) Fireboat Station 35, with a demonstration of SFFD’s high-pressure fire hydrant system and St. Francis Fireboat – both critical emergency response tools.

The drill utilized the city’s Emergency Firefighting Water Supply (EFWS), a dedicated water source for fighting fires in case the domestic water supply or overwhelmed. The EFWS system can be activated in the event of a major fire, earthquake, or other significant emergency. In addition to the high-pressure hydrant system and fireboat, it includes two saltwater pump stations and the portable hydrant system.

As demonstrated in today’s drill, the St. Francis fireboat pumps into the manifold at Pier 22 ½ to supply the EFWS system. The high-pressure hydrant provided by the manifold supplies water to an engine motor or deck gun. An SFFD hose tender can also draft water from the bay with a submersible pump to provide a portable hydrant system. An SFFD ladder truck company can then utilize that supply to operate an aerial ladder nozzle. The redundancy in the city’s water supply systems is critical to an effective response in the event of an emergency.

“As we continue to support the urgent efforts in Southern California, we have many tools in our toolbox to keep San Franciscans safe in an emergency,” said Mayor Lurie. “Our emergency services are constantly training and running exercises like these to make sure they are ready to keep our residents safe in any scenario. San Franciscans: Go to SF72.org for tips, make sure your emergency plan is up-to-date, and stay safe.”

“San Francisco is uniquely prepared to respond to conflagrations. Thanks to visionary leaders in San Francisco and the San Francisco Fire Department – like Chief Dennis Sullivan, who proposed our AWSS (EFWS) before the 1906 Earthquake – the city has developed a unique firefighting water system with multiple redundancies,” said SFFD Incoming Chief Dean Crispen. “These redundancies include our Standard Pressure Hydrants, High-Pressure Hydrants supplied by three reservoirs, two pump stations that can augment the EFWS with bay water, Fireboats that can provide five waterfront manifolds to increase the EFWS, 200 Cisterns located strategically throughout the city and above-ground hydrant system supported by Hose Tenders. These redundancies are designed to prevent hydrants from going dry in the event of a catastrophic fire.”