Workers say that overcrowding and staffing shortages at the UCSF Parnassus emergency room are putting patients in unsafe conditions, with many receiving care in hallways or on the waiting room floor.

As Mission Local reports, staff members say conditions inside the emergency department at University of California San Francisco Medical Center at Parnassus Heights have deteriorated to the point where patients wait hours for treatment. In some cases, patients suffer medical emergencies while beds sit unused due to staffing shortages.

Workers describe a growing gap between UCSF’s reputation as a premier hospital and what they say is happening inside the ER, where overcrowding and understaffing have become routine.

Concerns about conditions inside UCSF’s emergency department aren’t new. Back in 2023, nurses at UCSF Health told the San Francisco Standard that overcrowding and understaffing had pushed the ER into what some described as “war zone” conditions, with patients reportedly waiting days for beds and being cared for in hallways or even on the floor.

At the time, 125 charge nurses submitted a petition to hospital leadership saying they could no longer provide safe patient care under existing staffing conditions. The demands included more staffing support, better patient flow, and additional emergency resources.

In 2025, a report from the Chronicle found that UCSF was among the city’s worst hospitals for ambulance offload delays, with emergency patients often stuck waiting far beyond the state’s 30-minute transfer target before entering the ER system.

Now, many frontline workers believe the situation has only deteriorated further. According to Mission Local, providers now describe critically ill patients waiting hours for treatment, hallway beds functioning as semi-permanent care spaces, and mounting fears that delays are contributing to preventable harm.

“We’ve had several cases where patients have seized in the ER that are 100 percent preventable,” said one provider. “All the times are because of medication delays, and the delays result in them having a seizure.”

A major issue cited by Mission Local is “boarding,” where admitted patients remain stuck in the emergency department because no inpatient beds are available upstairs. Workers say this leaves ER beds occupied for days at a time, creating a bottleneck where incoming patients pile up in waiting rooms or are treated in makeshift spaces.

The outlet details the story of an elderly woman who came to the ER with a pulmonary embolism and was forced to spend three days in a bed in the hallway. Another patient fainted on the floor, and workers treated him on the ground because there weren’t any beds.

The report notes that California law limits emergency nurses to four patients each, but providers claim staffing levels have dropped dramatically in recent years, leaving parts of the ER effectively unusable despite demand continuing to climb.

“Imagine our frustration when we see 10 beds that are open, where a patient could be and have a private space, but we don’t have enough staffing for them,” one provider told Mission Local. “We have the capacity to take care of more people.”

UCSF leadership has reportedly acknowledged the problems with long waits and overcrowding, but they say the problems reflect a broader national emergency care crisis affecting hospitals across the country.

Still, multiple workers pointed to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital as a comparison, saying the public hospital is better staffed and more effective at moving admitted patients upstairs.

At the heart of the problems could be simple dollars and cents. Since Suresh Gunasekaran became president and CEO of UCSF Health in 2022, the system has reportedly swung from a $116 million loss in 2023 to an $809 million surplus in 2025, alongside major revenue growth and expansion.

Residents and physicians have reportedly organized petitions and rallies calling for more nurses and safer staffing levels, arguing that a world-renowned medical institution should not be operating with what they describe as collapsing emergency care conditions.

Related: UCSF Expands Again In Mission Bay

Image: UCSF/Google Maps

An elevator malfunction in SF's Russian Hill Monday caused it to plunge three stories with someone inside before the emergency brakes abruptly stopped the free fall, sending the person to the hospital with moderate to severe injuries.

The San Francisco Fire Department received a call about the incident at 8:44 am Monday, which occurred at 1475 Vallejo Street near Polk, a four-story multi-unit building in Russian Hill. As the Chronicle reports, the building was constructed in 1917, based on property records.

SFFD Lieutenant Mariano Elias, the public information officer for the fire department, told SFGate the elevator fell “multiple floors” with someone inside and abruptly stopped when the emergency brakes were activated. While the brakes fortunately kept the elevator from crashing into the bottom of the elevator shaft, the sudden stop caused the person to sustain moderate to severe injuries, and they were taken to the hospital.  

“It’s like going 50 mph and slamming on the brakes,” he said.

According to the Chronicle, the building owner was issued a notice of violation by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspections. The department said it had not received any prior complaints about the building’s elevator, and it didn’t have any information about the cause of the malfunction.

Elias told SFGate that while the fire department receives a lot of calls about people stuck in elevators in San Francisco, injuries like this are rare. He said it's much more common to encounter people going through a state of panic from being trapped in the elevator for a period of time.

Image: Google Street View

Residents throughout Marin County received alerts Sunday night that emergency dispatch centers were having periodic outages and to seek help at their closest fire stations. AT&T mobile and internet service was reportedly down, which was expected to be restored by 11:30 am Monday.

Per Bay City News, as Marin County recovered from the weekend’s record-breaking king tides flooding, the sheriff’s office warned residents on social media — and sent out two emergency alerts to local cell phones — that various emergency dispatch centers throughout the county were dealing with intermittent outages. Residents were told to get help from their local fire stations if they were unable to connect to a dispatch operator.

The sheriff’s office also provided its non-emergency line, which is (415) 479-2311, and the San Rafael Police Department’s alternate line is (415) 485-3393, per KRON4.

Commenters mentioned on the sheriff’s office’s Facebook post that their landlines were also down, while pointing out the implications of all means of communication being disabled during a potential natural disaster. Others discussed the status of Highway 101, which was reportedly open, but some exits were still flooded.

Image: Marin County

Napa County declared a local emergency for the Calistoga area Sunday, calling for additional funding to fight the Pickett Fire, which broke out Thursday and reached nearly 7,000 acres Sunday afternoon.

As SFist reported, the fire started just before 3 pm Thursday along Pickett Road outside the city limits of Calistoga, spreading to over 2,100 acres overnight. Cal Fire had deployed 435 firefighters and 75 engines to fight the fire on Friday, when temperatures reportedly hovered near 100 degrees. The blaze surpassed 3,000 acres and was at seven percent containment Friday afternoon.

As KPIX reports, the Bay Area Air District issued an Air Quality Advisory for Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties on Friday, which was extended through Monday, August 25. KPIX notes that the agency is urging residents in those counties to check fire.airnow.gov to stay protected from the smoke.

As Santa Rosa’s Press Democrat reports, ground crews and night-flying helicopters kept the fire within the established limits overnight on Friday.

Cal Fire sent 1,230 firefighters to fight the blaze Saturday morning. Temperatures were cooler on Saturday, but windy conditions posed challenges for firefighting aircrafts, which were temporarily grounded due to low visibility from the smoke, per the Press Democrat.

As the Guardian reports, Napa County officials issued evacuation orders to around 190 people — as well as evacuation warnings to 360 people — throughout the day Saturday. Additional evacuation orders were announced Saturday evening, including at the historic Aetna Springs Resort, per the Press Democrat. The Guardian writes that 500 structures in the Aetna Springs and Pope Valley regions were at risk of being hit by the blaze.

Cal Fire said that although the winds pushed the fire “aggressively east,” firefighters were able to keep the blaze contained at 11% as of 9:30 pm Saturday, per the Press Democrat.

As KPIX reports, 2,045 personnel were on the scene Sunday, along with “205 engines, 67 dozers, 23 water tenders, 53 crews and 10 helicopters.” Favorable weather conditions allowed crews to make more progress containing the fire and managing hotspots.

KPIX writes that while many evacuation orders remained in effect Sunday, some residents were allowed to return to their homes — with caution. A community resource center has been set up at 1307 Washington Street in Calistoga, equipped with A/C, charging stations, and light refreshments, per KPIX.

As the Guardian reports, the fire is traveling along the burn scar of the dried vegetation left behind by the 2020 Glass Fire. The Glass Fire, which was significantly larger than the Pickett Fire and caused widespread damage, was declared the worst fire in Napa history, as SFist reported.

As KRON4 reports, Ryan Alsop, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Napa County’s Emergency Services, signed an emergency proclamation Sunday asking for additional resources for fighting the fire.

“The safety of our residents is our top priority,” Alsop said in a statement Sunday, per KRON4. “This declaration is a proactive step to ensure we can mobilize every available resource to respond to the needs of our community, including coordinating with state and federal partners.”

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.  There have been no injuries or reported damages so far.

Top image: Cal Fire LNU/Twitter

Previously: Pickett Fire, Which Began Thursday In Calistoga, Grows to 2,133 Acres

Just in time for your evening commute, northbound South Van Ness Ave from Mission Street to Market Street has been close due to a hazmat situation. (Unconfirmed reports suggest a chemical leak.)

The nearby SFMTA building at Market and Van Ness has also been evacuated. People inside 1 S. Van Ness have complained about shortness of breath, according to KTVU.

No estimated time of the street re-opening.

We'll update as soon as we know more.

UPDATE: Streets are now open.

A gas leak at 24th and Bryant, smack dab the ninth circle of San Francisco's gentrification techster hell, has prompted a temporary street closure this afternoon. According to Mission Mission, it is the reason why some Missionites are hearing helicopter overhead.

Firefighters have evacuated nearby homes and businesses. People meandering in the area have been advised to scram. The leak has yet to be capped. Ellen Huet (of SF Chronicle) tweets that the "[s]mell is pretty strong."

We'll update as soon as we know more.

This handy map based on data from the city's Department of Building Inspection and published by the S.F. Public Press will tell you (albeit with a frighteningly large degree of uncertainty).

To explain: the city's Department of Building Inspection has been keeping a list of "soft story" buildings since 2009. The list names nearly 3,000 addresses in the city where weak ground floors could cause them to collapse in a major earthquake. The hope was to earthquake-shame building owners into retrofitting their properties to meet the stricter modern guidelines and the survey that gathered the information only looked at wood-framed apartment complexes built before 1973. So, if you're in a rent-controlled building chances are high that your building will make an appearance on the list (and then fall apart). There's one, tiny piece of hope here though: according to city inspectors the list has never actually been verified, so some of the addresses could be completely wrong. Either way, the list of buildings is handily organized by ZIP code and can be easily perused for paranoia's sake over on S.F. Public Press here.

In addition to the list of wobbly foundations, the frighteningly red-colored areas on the map represent parts of the city that are built on landfill and stand a high risk of liquefaction if the earth starts shaking. Perhaps you've seen that map before.

At around 8:30 this morning, the hydrant at Sanchez and Day in Noe Valley was knocked over, creating this glorious/frustrating scene. SFist reader and local photog David Gallagher captured the watery explosion, noting, "San Francisco Fire Department works to turn off valve to knocked over fire hydrant."

We're not sure how the hydrant came off, exactly, but we'll update as soon as we know more.

The bomb squad has been called in over on the 100 block of New Montgomery in San Francisco, according to NBC Bay Area. A shelter in place is in effect for all businesses. Please stay out of the area in the meantime. We will update as soon as we know more.

Update: According to Honey Love the bomb squad have been called in front of the Bank of America at 33 New Montgomery. Ms. Love reports:

Update: Police have reopened New Montgomery.

A minor 4.0 quake hit the Bay Area at 5:33 Monday morning, rattling parts of San Francisco and the East Bay. Did you feel it? According to USGS, it was centered in El Cerrito on the Hayward fault. Folks on Twitter described the quake as a "jolt or rumble," "strong," "could've have been just a 4.0," and "I am never ever sleeping naked again!"

We'll update throughout the morning with any reports of damage or injuries. Please expect a 10-20 minute delay with BART.

Feel free to share with us where you were when it happened.

Also, today's earthquake is a good reminder you should get prepared. 72Hours.org has all the info you need (e.g., first aid kit, your go bag, home safety, children) for earthquake preparation.

A huge blaze, which has been described as the largest in the area since the Berkeley/Oakland Hills fire in 1991, burned inside the historic 39-unit Sequoias apartment building at Haste and Telegraph in Berkeley for seventeen hours on Friday night and most of the day Saturday. An estimated seventy residents were displaced and the building was gutted, making a subsequent investigation difficult, as investigators won't be allowed to enter the building.

The fire took more than six hours to contain and required a total of 61 firefighters, 17 fire engines, 10 chief officers and six paramedic ambulances on the scene. No injuries to residents or firefighters have been reported.

Businesses that were housed on the ground-floor of the building were also destroyed, including Cafe Intermezzo and Raleigh’s Bar & Grill. Cafe Intermezzo's Yelp page already notes the restaurant's closure, and patrons are mourning its loss. Fire officials told Mercury News that nearby roads will likely will be closed for days or weeks, but neighboring businesses will likely be able to reopen soon.

Witnesses say the flames began in the basement of the building inside an electrical panel below the building's elevator. The building had a long history of fires, including one on the roof earlier this year, and a commenter on the Daily Cal notes that the elevator kept catching on fire when they lived there in 1959. Many residents who spoke to the press said they initially ignored the fire alarms because they had experienced so many minor fires in the past.

Many residents and neighbors are blaming the owners, Greg and Kenneth Ent, for negligence. As Berkeleyside reports, lots of folks are worried that once the building's demolished, the land, which faces a vacant lot across the street, will also become a vacant lot.

Berkeley officials are requesting that residents of the building and others who were staying there call a non-emergency fire department number, 510-981-5900, so they can be sure all residents are safe.

Displaced residents can call the Red Cross at 510-595-4441 for help with shelter, food and clothing. Those looking to donate can also call 510-595-4441 or visit redcrossbayarea.org.

Many Cal students have kindly been offering shelter and support to the displaced residents, as indicated in the Daily Cal comments section.

AlertSF sent word that a gas main break shut down occurred near Union Square. "At 2:15 today it was reported that a 10" gas main was hit by a construction crew at Mason and Post Streets. All vehicular and pedestrian traffic is being re-routed. PLEASE AVOID THE AREA."

PUC, SFFD, SFPD and PGE are all on the scene.

Update: Gas is shooting into the air, reports CBS 5, and surrounding buildings are being evacuated.

Update II: PG&E crews are working to fix the gas main, but you'll need to reroute your plans home for the evening commute. ABC 7 is streaming live footage.

Update III: Downtown SF gas main leak now capped. Shelter in place lifted. Repairs still in progress.

A gas leak at Howard and Beale streets has prompted a street closure in the area. Which is to say, avoid the area of Beale between Mission and Howard for now. Muni is also being rerouted. Update: PG&E reports, "The flow of gas was capped at 1 pm. The scene is safe. Beale Street to Howard is currently closed to traffic."

We're getting reports that an earthquake just shook a huge swath of the East Coast, from as far north as Boston south to North Carolina. Ooop - our cohorts at Gothamist HQ report it was a 5.8, centered in Virginia! Craziness... and clearly everyone over there, unaccustomed to such things, is freaking out.

A massive six-alarm fire in Fairfield at the Macro Plastics Plant on 2250 Huntington Drive has resulted in a shelter-in-place. The blaze started a little before 2 pm this afternoon. Loads of plastic bins used for agricultural purposes are on fire, with no sign of it letting up. The flames are now spreading past the plastic plant. A huge plume of black smoke hovers above the area.

CBS 5, who have a helicopter shooting live footage at the scene, reports: "No injuries were immediately reported, but the Fairfield Mayor’s Office confirmed that a shelter-in-place was issued after 2 p.m."