Rank-and-file S.F. firefighters call for chief’s ouster

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Rank-and-file S.F. firefighters call for chief’s ouster 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

Citing a “grave crisis in direction and leadership,” heads of San Francisco’s rank-and-file firefighter organizations — including those representing women and minorities — have penned a letter calling on Mayor Ed Lee to replace the city’s first female fire chief, Joanne Hayes-White.

The letter calls for “new management” for the department with “new ideas” to address what the group is calling “the crisis in public safety,” according to sources familiar with the drafting of the statement.

The letter followed a meeting Monday morning at the Firefighters Union Hall, attended by about 25 union members representing various segments of the rank-and-file, including women, African Americans and LGBT firefighters.

Drafts of the letter were passed over the Internet, with the final copy expected to be signed and sent to the mayor later this week.

“It was an unprecedented meeting,” said one source in attendance. “Everyone was there, and everyone was on the same page.”

Sources say the situation reached a boiling point over the Labor Day weekend when the ongoing shortage of city ambulances had some firefighter units in the field waiting for more than an hour for an ambulance to transport their patients to hospitals.

The ambulance shortage has been an ongoing problem within the department, but it has mushroomed in the past year when it was detailed in several city and media reports.

In August, there were more than 374 incidents where it took more than 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive at a call — including nine cases where it took more than an hour, according to data presented to the Fire Commission last month.

Supervisor London Breed, a former member of the Fire Commission who has recently held hearings on the ambulance issue, already has announced that she has lost confidence in the department’s leadership — but stopped short of calling for the chief’s ouster.

“They say they have a plan, but I don’t know what that really means,” Breed said after meeting with the mayor and fire chief Monday morning at City Hall.

Ironically, Breed’s meeting with the mayor and chief was going on as the firefighters were meeting a few blocks away on Mission Street.

“We don’t care how they do it. Hire more private companies to come in, but just get more ambulances on the street,” said one source.

In addition to the concerns about ambulance service, firefighters also want a plan to reduce firefighter overtime brought on by under-staffing.

The letter also calls for a five-year plan to bring the department’s aging ambulances and fire trucks and engines up to date.

Hayes-White had not seen the letter and declined to comment on it. However, she said, “I’ve had to make some tough and unpopular decisions in recent years, but I’m staying positive and professional.”

“And I want the public to know that a firefighter or paramedic will be on the scene within minutes of any emergency. We are talking about ambulance transport here.”

Mayoral spokesman Christine Falvey said the mayor had not seen any letter, but that he has “confidence in the chief.”

“She has led the department through the worst recession of a generation, and is now dealing with a growing city,” Falvey said. She added they are making “significant progress” with the ambulance transport.

In 2004, freshly elected Mayor Gavin Newsom made a splash with Hayes-White’s appointment as the city’s first female fire chief.

At the same time, Newsom named Heather Fong as the city’s first acting (and soon after) permanent police chief.

The fire chief has had occasional run-ins with the union, and publicly her department came under fire for its response to the July 6, 2013, Asiana Airlines crash that resulted in three deaths, including a 15-year-old who was run over by a responding fire truck.

There were also questions about the department’s handling of the case of veteran firefighter Michael Quinn, who was accused of driving a ladder truck into a motorcyclist while drunk and then leaving the scene.

Neither the Asiana crash nor the Quinn case was a factor in the letter, sources said.

Hayes-White, who had risen relatively quickly through the ranks, was just 39 when she became chief.

She is now 50 and eligible for retirement from her $320,000-a-year post.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross