San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White won’t be saying “cheerio” to San Francisco in favor of London after all.
The chief was invited last month to apply for the position of commissioner of London’s fire brigade and strongly considered it. But in the end, she opted not to try for the job and instead to remain the longest-serving fire chief in the good ol’ U.S. of A. (That’s true, her 11 years in the post is the national record.)
Mindy Talmadge, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Fire Department, said Hayes-White, 50, was “extremely honored” to be recruited to submit her application, but that her ties to San Francisco are too powerful.
“The three fine young men that she is raising, her 90-year-old mother and the San Francsico Fire Department, which she remains proud to lead, are all here in San Francisco,” Talmadge wrote in an e-mail.
Talmadge added, “As the economy recovers, she is committed to rebuilding parts of our department and enhancing our level of service to our growing city.”
Hayes-White has weathered controversy in recent months. In September, the city’s firefighter unions called for her resignation, saying she wasn’t adequately dealing with the problem of ambulances taking too long to respond to emergencies.
On Tuesday, Hayes-White got some good news on that front. Mayor Ed Lee announced an extra $47.3 million for the Fire and Emergency Management departments in the city’s next two-year budget cycle. The money will be used to hire additional paramedics, firefighters and 911 dispatchers and to pay for fire station upgrades, new equipment and new vehicles including, yes, ambulances.
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