2017 DEM Annual Report DEM_2017_Annual_Report | Page 4

EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
_________ ____
ANNE KRONENBERG
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
It is with great pride that I present the City and County of San Francisco
Department of Emergency Management’s (DEM) 2017 Annual Report.
2017 marked an incredibly active year for DEM and this report highlights
many notable achievements made by DEM’s dedicated staff that directly
contributed to San Francisco’s ability to prepare for, respond, to and recover
from emergencies, which included:
Continued 9-1-1 Dispatch Center Investments:
San Francisco continues its investment in our City’s 9-1-1 system to address significant
increases in call volume by hiring and training more public safety dispatchers than ever
before. We also began an expansion of the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center from 42 to 50 terminals. The
MAVIS computer program which helps dispatchers send the closest medics to emergencies
also came online. With the support of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s
Office, DEM launched the Make the Right Call campaign which teaches the public to call 9-1-1
for emergencies and 3-1-1 for City services. Thanks to these combined efforts, by the end of
2017 DEM met the national service standard to answer 90 percent of emergency calls within
10 seconds for the first time in five years.
Strengthened Regional Relationships
The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) continued its stewardship of the Bay Area’s homeland
security grant program by managing and disseminating nearly $24 million in expenditures to
support the region’s ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist
incidents and other catastrophic events. In addition to grant management, UASI also sent
resources throughout the region to assist in large-scale emergency response to mass flooding
disasters and the devastating North Bay Fire storms.
Trained and Exercised for a Prepared & Resilient San Francisco:
We conducted numerous exercises designed to improve the City’s ability to recover from an
emergency event or natural disaster. Our efforts ranged from tabletop and discussion based
exercises, to full-scale functional exercises all of which engaged city, regional, state, federal,
and community-based organization partners. The Epicenter Summit, the San Francisco Bay
Area’s annual earthquake exercise that includes TED-format talks, tabletop exercises, panels,
and emergency support function discussions forged relationships among departments
and addressed planning gaps. The Defense Support of Civil Authorities Exercise (as part
of Fleet Week) deployed and staged field medical treatment facilities and assets from the
Department of Public Health, California Emergency Medical Services Authority, and the U.S.
Marine Corps adjacent to San Francisco Zuckerberg General Hospital. Along with the many
emergency management exercises we conducted in 2017, we made great strides educating
San Francisco’s communities and youth to be prepared for emergencies within DEM’s
SF72 emergency preparedness programs while conducting nearly 30 community and youth
emergency preparedness trainings.
These accomplishments are credited to DEM’s dedicated staff, and the contributions of our
partners. I am immensely grateful to these individuals and partners whose energy and support
sustain us. I also want to acknowledge our late Mayor Lee for his vision and commitment to
San Francisco’s preparedness and resilience. Mayor Lee was an inspiring advocate for the
underserved and a powerful voice for safer communities. DEM looks forward to honoring his
legacy as we work to ensure a prepared and resilient San Francisco.
Thank you,
Anne Kronenberg
Executive Director