Although a 2020 City bond measure raised at least $151 million to fund more robust water pipelines in San Francisco’s westside neighborhoods to help put out potentially massive fires after a major earthquake, bad math and inflation are burning through that money, leaving large areas more vulnerable to conflagrations following the “big one.”
Money from a 2020 bond measure, sold to voters as financing for expanding an earthquake-resistant pipeline system for westside neighborhoods, may run short for water infrastructure improvements instead after a unilateral decision by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).
A study on financing the expansion of the Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) – a separate heavy-duty pipeline system designed to fight a devastating conflagration following a major earthquake – was recently released by city agencies.
A plan for expanding the Emergency Firefighting Water Supply (EFWS) system to douse an inferno likely to follow a major earthquake is moving forward, with new pipelines proposed in addition to those already funded.
A proposal to install a seawater pump for fighting fires on the City’s west side after a big earthquake was rejected by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC), although they do support building one on the southeast side.
A more detailed account explaining how a two-story column of fire blasted up from a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) gas line at the corner of Geary Boulevard and Parker Avenue in February of 2019 was released last month by the National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB).
The San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) is calling on city leaders to prioritize spending for more hose tender fire trucks. This particular type of fire truck costs $1 million each, and while orders have been placed for a few of them, according to a 2019 Civil Grand Jury (CGJ) report, that will not be nearly enough.
Plans to expand San Francisco’s high-pressure water system for fighting fires immediately after a major earthquake are beginning to take shape. The plans come following a Civil Grand Jury (CGJ) report in 2019 demanded that the City take action.
At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, the Board unanimously adopted Supervisor Gordon Mar’s legislation declaring a State of Urgency to rapidly expand the City’s Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS) to protect all neighborhoods in the event of a major earthquake and fire.
At Friday’s Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee meeting, Supervisor Gordon Mar’s resolution declaring a State of Urgency to rapidly expand the City’s EFWS to protect all neighborhoods in the event of a major earthquake and fire received unanimous support.
The agenda of the SFPUC is not to provide a system using an inexhaustible supply of seawater, which is the only certain means by which the SFFD will be able to control post-earthquake fires, but rather to use Earthquake Bond money to slowly replace their antiquated and fragile drinking water mains.
After a Civil Grand Jury reported that large parts of San Francisco could burn to the ground after an earthquake if something is not done soon, four city supervisors and a state assemblyman have called the situation urgent and demanded action.
By Thomas K. Pendergast A recent Civil Grand Jury (CGJ) report has raised questions about post-earthquake fire protection after the next major temblor and whether firefighters will have enough water pressure to […]
… the Civil Grand Jury found that large parts of the City, such as the Outer Richmond, Outer Sunset and Bayview/Hunters Point districts, among others, do not have a high-pressure AWSS, and would be particularly vulnerable to fire damage when the next major earthquake strikes.
Someday another earthquake of the magnitude that hit San Francisco in 1906 is expected to strike again. A bond proposal to expand an emergency water system for fighting fires that will likely follow a massive quake was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 