San Francisco Emergecy Services dubious in nature with little leadership in Conroy

No City can run without a good 911 Emergency Operation and happy Dispatchers that are paid well and stress free - stress comes from the job but they should not be stressed before they even start work. The 911 Dispatcher have been treated badly and they are supposed to be our front line personnel in any Emergency. How can we start on the wrong foot and jump into the cesspool?

The San Francisco 911 is the worst and one has only to talk to the Communication and Dispatch personnel to understand the plight and the lack of support these vital operations get from the City and County of San Francisco and the Office of Emergency Services.

The long drab meetings conducted by the OES are full of diatribe and meaningless. I wish Ann Marie Conroy attended a practical Emegency or Disaster Plan by trained personnel such as those conducted by the United States Army.

If tomorrow the Big One strikes the OES under Ann Marie Conroy will be a total failure. The woman is inept and very arrogant. I have said this from day one. Even a poodle can run the operation but not the arrogance that spews from this woman with very little experience.

A recent SF City audit which is NOT out will pinpoint the gap and the failures of the OES.

Mayor Gavin Newsom who has been pussy footing for the longest time ever - will be floored and once he gets back on his feet he better fire Ann Marie Conroy and put the OES in the hands of some able person.

When the Big One strikes we should have in place the Standard Operating Procedures to tackle almost anything. At this time we are in the talk mode and have been for the longest time ever.

Here are some areas we should tackle and have in place:

1. State of the art communication. Right now we are still working at it.

2. Heavy equipment to address the rubble and other heavy objects that have to be moved
rapidly.

3. Air support - today we do not have a single helicopter that the SF City and County owns.

4. Trained personnel that practices with the Army to address urgent Emergency needs.

5. Better outreach to constituents in poor neighborhoods - Katrina here I come!

6. Team work and stop the dictatorial mandates that Ann Marie Conroy uses as a tool.

7. Accountability and Transparency - none of which are there today within OES.

8. The Sirens are there but they are not working - at least most of them.

9. Exercises with the San Francisco Police, Fire, and Army on many senerios linked to
Fire, Flood, Evacuation, Food and Water Supply, Medicines, shelter, and Earthquake
preparedness found in Standard Army Manuals.

10. Investment in State of Art electronic equipment to locate and rescue human beings.


http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/05/12/MNG0AIQRQ11.DTL&type=printable


Francisco Da Costa
Director
Environmental Justice Advocacy