SF Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and SFFD introduced legislation banning the sale of lithium-ion batteries without a UL certification label due to increased fire risk, giving city agencies authority to penalize retailers and issue fines to consumers who violate the law.

Prompted by the tragic fire in the Tenderloin last December that displaced 45 residents, along with the rise in other battery-related incidents across the city, SF District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and the SF Fire Department introduced legislation Tuesday prohibiting the sale of uncertified lithium-ion batteries in the city.

The legislation would restrict the sale of lithium-ion batteries by local and online retailers to those with the UL Solutions label, which indicates they meet the required safety standards. According to KGO, it would also allow the fire chief to fine residents up to $1,000 who are in possession of non-certified batteries, while authorizing the city attorney to pursue legal action against merchants who are caught selling them — online or locally.

"This measure is intended to prevent dangerous and fast-moving fires before they start, particularly in dense residential buildings where a single battery failure can threaten dozens of residents," Mahmood said at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, via NBC Bay Area.

As KQED reports, data from the SF Fire Department shows that structure fires stemming from uncertified batteries have been steadily increasing for several years. Mahmood’s office said in a press release that 120 lithium-ion battery-related incidents occurred in SF from 2024 to 2025, with dozens taking place in or near the Tenderloin.

"Our laws need to catch up with our technology, and this is the first step to do so," Mahmood said, per KGO.

Per KQED, common household devices also contain lithium-ion batteries, including phones, computers, and cordless vacuums, which also pose fire hazards.  

"Lithium-ion batteries are incredibly dangerous if improperly stored or improperly charged," said Fire Chief Dean Crispen in a social media post with Mahmood.

While batteries sold in the US are typically UL Solutions-certified, experts say some less reputable, budget e-bike models may sometimes come with uncertified batteries, according to KQED.

“The problem here is not e-bikes and scooters, the problem is when people are using non-UL certified batteries in them,” said Mahmood.

Fire Lt. Mariano Elias said battery fires often ignite with “no real warning” typically starting with a small amount of smoke, leading to sparks, then a big explosion, followed by the release of toxic smoke.

"Non-UL batteries can be charged over their expected limit where it causes thermal runaway, which creates a large amount of fire and smoke which is toxic to the members of our community as well as the members of our fire department," said Crispen in the video.

Elias said battery fires are also difficult to extinguish due to their waterproof casing.

“We’re kind of fighting the casing of the battery,” Elias said, speaking to KQED.

The fire department is also doing its part to increase public awareness surrounding lithium-ion battery safety. Experts recommend precautions such as unplugging e-bikes and scooters when fully charged and avoiding charging while asleep or away. For all devices using lithium-ion batteries, officials also advise strictly using the manufacturer’s charger and charging devices on flat, non-combustible surfaces out of direct sunlight.

Batteries should not be utilized if they pop or hiss, if the battery is visibly bulging, or if the device gets extremely hot.

"Anyone in San Francisco shouldn't have to be worried about purchasing unsafe batteries or being displaced by a fire due to a neighbor charging one of these they should trust that they are purchasing safe and certified batteries," Mahmood said.

Related: Six-Story Apartment Building Next to Golden Gate Theater Goes Up In Flames, 45 Displaced

Image via Citizen app

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

A historic streetcar got T-boned by a San Francisco fire truck Monday morning, and it's unclear how the crash happened or whether anyone was injured.

One of F-Market line's historic streetcars was struck on the side by an SFFD fire truck at around 11:48 am Monday, in the area of Bay Street and Embarcadero.

Video from the Citizen app appears to show that the F-Market car was traveling south on Embarcadero when the fire truck, likely coming from Bay Street, collided with the streetcar.

The streetcar appears visibly damaged, and a fender was lying in the roadway.

As KRON4 notes, the streetcar in question is a Pacific Electric car from 1948 that was originally part of Los Angeles's famed Red Car transit system — the last piece of which was retired in 1961.

The crash caused temporary delays on the F-Market line.

As of 12:40 pm, the SFMTA tweeted that the scene had been cleared and regular service was resuming.

It remains unclear whether the streetcar had any passengers at the time of the crash, or if the operator or any firefighers were injured.

This is a developing story.

A woman reportedly suffered severe burns and was hospitalized after a fire broke out in her overstuffed, single-room occupancy apartment unit in North Beach on Tuesday.

The fire broke out around 8:30 am Tuesday inside a tiny unit at 75 Fresno Street — a small alley between Broadway and Vallejo Street, off of Romolo Place, in North Beach. Smoke was reportedly visible coming out of the apartment window into the alley.

A spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, Lieutenant Mariano Elias, tells the Chronicle that firefighters had difficulty opening the door of the apartment due to the "hoarding conditions" inside.

The woman trapped inside consequently had to be rescued through the apartment window.

The elderly woman reportedly suffered second-degree burns on 75 percent of her body, and was rushed to the city's burn unit at St. Francis Medical Center.

The SFFD subsequently released the photo below of the 100-square-foot apartment unit, which was piled head-high with kitchen items, luggage, and much more.

It's certainly unclear where a person would live or sleep in that space!

The suspected cause of the fire has not been released.

A fire broke out in a pier building on Pier 28 Tuesday morning, the second here in just over a year, leading to a subsequent traffic snarl in the area of Embarcadero and Bryant streets.

The one-alarm fire on Pier 28, which produced smoke that billowed over the Bay, was reported by multiple 911 callers just before 10:30 am, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

Fire crews have extinguished the fire, but as of 11:30 am, the Embarcadero remained closed so traffic between Bryant and Brannan streets, and drivers were being told to avoid the area.

The firefight was aided by the SFFD's firefighting boat, the Saint Francis, which is stationed nearby at the floating fire station at Pier 22 1/2.

No injuries were reported in the blaze, and the cause of the fire has not been determined.

A previous fire occurred at this same pier just over a year ago, in December 2024.

• The San Francisco Fire Department rescued a person in the frigid water at Pier 9 Saturday morning around 8:30 am, and they were treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. [KRON4]
• A 93-year-old man in Fremont turned himself in to police for fatally shooting his 86-year-old wife and provided reasoning for his motive, which hasn’t been released. [Chronicle]
• The family of Yolanda Ramirez, a 72-year-old East Bay woman who was killed in police custody in October after a dispute with her sister, has filed state and federal lawsuits demanding that the Brentwood Police Department release body cam footage of the incident. [KGO]

• A new state website called Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform launched Thursday, in which California residents can request the deletion of their personal data from over 500 data brokers that sell information such as browsing history and phone numbers. [NBC Bay Area]

Residents said more than 100 people attended an illegal early morning sideshow in SF’s Outer Sunset Saturday. SFPD, which was flooded with reports of gunshots, fireworks, and a U-Haul full of furniture being set ablaze, reportedly took more than 20 minutes to respond.

As KRON4 reports, the incident occurred between 3:45 and 4:45 am Saturday near Kirkham and La Playa streets, as seen in the below footage captured by a resident.

A witness told KPIX someone reached into their waistband and began shooting a gun into the air. Spectators were also seen jumping on the windshield of a nearby work van.

The man who rented the U-Haul van told KPIX he was woken up by the sound of revving motors as participants raced their cars in circles and performed stunts. He then saw spectators begin vandalizing the U-Haul and opening the door. "They were actually setting off Roman candles inside the car," Brown said. The remains of the burnt U-Haul van can be seen in the below KPIX segments.

Once the U-Haul was set ablaze, residents began calling the San Francisco Police Department, which reportedly took 20–25 minutes to respond. The Chronicle reports that SFPD began receiving calls around 4:24 am. A resident said SFPD told him they only had two squad cars available and had to wait for back-up, as reported by KPIX.

The resident who captured video footage said he couldn’t get through to a 911 operator.

“During this time, there were no police officers present,” the man said, per KRON4. “I attempted to call 911, but was unable to get through for several minutes. The lack of emergency response was alarming given the size and intensity of the crowd.”

The San Francisco Fire Department arrived on the scene and extinguished the fire. Arson is suspected, according to SFFD Lieutenant Mariano Elias, per KRON4.

Per KPIX, District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong met with residents Saturday afternoon where they discussed environmental strategies to prevent sideshow activity such as roundabouts or speed bumps, as well as increased staffing at the district’s police department.

Police arrested a suspect and impounded his car, and they’re in the process of tracking down other participants’ cars, per KPIX. SFPD’s Stunt Driving Response Unit is investigating the incident, per the Chronicle.

As the Chronicle reports, new legislation was recently introduced by Supervisor Danny Sauter and co-sponsored by Wong proposing that the maximum penalty be raised from $500 to $1,000 for misdemeanor sideshow offenses.

“These incidents are extremely dangerous and have no place in our neighborhoods,” Wong said, per the Chronicle. “When a vehicle is set on fire in the middle of a community, it puts nearby residents, passing drivers, and our first responders at serious risk.”

As SFist reported previously, sideshows made their debut in the Sunset back in May.

Image: screenshot from video

Details have been added to the post as reports come in.

Previously: Sideshows Have Made It All the Way Out to the Sunset, and Residents Are Pissed

While the Alamo Square home of dog walker Terry Williams undergoes renovations after burning down in the spring of 2024, a porta-potty at the site was set on fire around 1 am Saturday. Additionally, the suspect in the case of the racist threats has been missing since the fall of 2024.

As the Chronicle reports, a porta-potty outside the home of local dog walker Terry Williams and his parents, which is still being rebuilt after it was destroyed in a fire a year and a half ago, was set on fire early Saturday morning. The home wasn’t damaged in Saturday’s fire, but its exterior was charred.

As SFist reported in May of 2024, Williams wasn’t home when the original fire broke out in the home, but his elderly parents had to be rescued by firefighters. Williams told KTVU his 76-year-old disabled mother Carolyn almost died in the fire. “To me, it's a miracle that they found me. It scares me sometime,” Carolyn told KTVU.

Per the SF Standard, Carolyn died in January 2025, possibly due to health issues that were exacerbated by injuries sustained in the fire.

A few weeks before the May 2024 fire, per SFist, Williams received racist hate mail, including “a voodoo doll depicting a Black person with a noose around his neck, as well as postcards and other mail containing racist and threatening language.”

On November 6, 2024, the San Francisco Police Department identified the person suspected of the racist threats as April Martin Chartrand, a 67-year-old Black artist and Williams’ neighbor who was reported missing on August 23, 2024, per SFist.

“I was shocked,” Williams told KTVU when he heard who the suspect was. “It's a disgrace to Black people and you're an elder.”

Williams recalled that he had confronted Chartrand about five years previously about leaving broken glass in the street out of concern for neighborhood dogs’ paws, which created lingering hostility between the two, per SFist.

“I’m an animal lover. I don’t want any animals getting hurt,” Williams told KQED.

SFPD is still seeking assistance from the public in locating Chartrand, as they obtained a warrant for her arrest. Contact the SFPD at (415) 575-4444 or text TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.”

Williams’s family has two GoFundMe accounts, which became the center of a dispute between Williams and his family following Carolyn’s death, per the Standard.

Image: May 2024 house fire; SFFD

• [Update] About 100 firefighters were called to a fire in SF’s North Beach neighborhood Friday evening. The fire, which was located on the top floor of an apartment building on Montgomery Street near Vallejo Street, also damaged two neighboring buildings, but no injuries were reported. [Chronicle]

• San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman is proposing a revision to Proposition E, a 2022 law implemented to prevent corruption within the city government. The revision would allow supervisors to publicly request a waiver from the rest of the Board in order to solicit funds from people or organizations that have existing city contracts. [Mission Local]
• Surfers from far and wide enjoyed 40-foot waves on opening day of the season in the acclaimed Mavericks, California near Half Moon Bay Thursday. [Chronicle]
• The Oakland Zoo’s annual Glowfari lantern festival opens Friday evening and runs through January 25. [NBC Bay Area]

• After expanding beyond its core mission, the Sierra Club has been weakened by financial turmoil, internal conflict, and declining support just as Trump’s administration rolls back environmental protections. [New York Times]
• Head on over to Powell Station in San Francisco at 2 pm Saturday — help local rapper Yung Phil’s hyphy dance video go viral! [Yung Phil]

National:

• When someone fainted on stage during a press conference at the Oval Office Thursday, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to abruptly leave the scene as Dr. Oz, and others, assisted the man. A “source” later claimed RFK Jr. was fetching a chair for the man, which is reportedly what someone else said they were doing. [People]
• The Trump administration is reversing part of a bill that Trump signed into law during his first term that required manufacturers to reduce the use of harmful greenhouse gases in refrigerators and air conditioners. [Associated Press]
• Military families living in a privatized housing development near Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida were told they weren’t allowed to put up Christmas decorations no sooner than 30 days before December 25. [Task & Purpose]

Video of the Day:

Speaking of hyphy, harpist GEO, who’s Bay Area born and raised, quickly rose to fame this year after posting a series of reels of her mesmerizing accompaniments to various hyphy classics, including Keak da Sneak’s “Super Hyphy.”

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Firefighters received a report of a two-alarm fire at 9:25 pm on the 1500 block of Filbert Street Friday night. A person was found dead in the third-floor unit where the fire started, as SFFD was potentially delayed by hoarding conditions, along with the amount of overhead wires on Filbert.

Update: KPIX interviewed residents of the apartment building Saturday who were furious with the city over its refusal to address their reports — dating back years — about unsafe hoarding conditions in the third-floor unit where the fire started. One resident also said she had previously spoken to the victim, who was reportedly in her 50s, about her concern for her well-being as the exits were blocked on the inside.

All of the tenants have been temporarily displaced from the 12-unit, four-story building. Officials are still investigating the cause of the fire.

As the Chronicle reports, the San Francisco Fire Department arrived on the scene in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood at 9:41 pm and witnessed heavy smoke coming from the third floor. Per KPIX, Fire Chief Dean Crispen said suspected hoarding conditions made it difficult for firefighters to enter the unit. Challenges extinguishing the fire were also compounded by the amount of overhead wires on Filbert Street.

“We had initial reports of hoarder conditions, so a lot of materials make it challenging for us to enter, you know, we're still confirming that,” Crispen said, per KPIX. “Very challenging street, a lot of wires in front as you can see behind me.”

Firefighters were able to quickly help other occupants escape the building and had the blaze under control by 10:21 pm. One person sustained minor injuries, and two dogs and two cats were rescued from the fire, per KRON4.

“The fire was spreading to other apartments, but due to the quick work of our members we were able to stop it,” Crispen said, per the Chronicle. The Chronicle reports that SFFD’s arson unit is investigating.

Image: SFFD

An early morning fire Wednesday in the Marina District led to two firefighters crashing through the floor of the engulfed building, and a third firefighter was also hospitalized.

The fire broke out around 4:15 am at a three-story home under construction on the 2500 block of Chestnut Street, according to the SF Fire Department on Xitter. The block is near the end of the street where Chestnut meets Richardson Avenue, two blocks south of the Palace of Fine Arts.

The home where the fire began appeared to be an older one where renovations were happening inside, and it was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The fire also spread to a next-door building.

The firefight was ongoing as of 5:15 am, and the department reported that two firefighters were injured. The public was asked to avoid the area of Chestnut Street between Baker and Broderick streets.

San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen told reporters at the scene, "At one point during the fire a mayday was called" when the two firefighters fell through the floor from the third to the second floor, sustaining injuries.

The third injured firefighter reportedly "over-exerted himself," per KTVU.

Crispen said 145 firefighters were on the scene, and "the fire moved very rapidly" between the two buildings because both are wood-framed — and the house where it began had exposed walls due to ongoing electrical and plumbing work.

Occupants of buildings on both sides of the fire were immediately evacuated, and they were later allowed to return to their homes around 6 am. It's unclear if anyone was displaced.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Nearby kayakers and a boat emblazoned with the Ghostbusters logo came to the aid of three people whose kayaks overturned while they were watching the Giants-Dodgers game Saturday. The Giants lost the game, 13-7.

As KRON4 reports, the kayakers fell overboard around 8:30 pm and were quickly rescued by nearby kayakers and a private boat prior to the San Francisco Fire Department’s arrival on the scene.

As Bay City News reports, the three were evaluated at the scene by EMS who determined they were in good condition. They all refused medical care, per Bay City News.

SFPD reminds folks to wear life jackets on the water, per KRON4.

Image: San Francisco Fire Department

A longtime SF firefighter who’s now 60 years old just got a $1.2 million settlement, saying he was repeatedly passed over for promotions after his 2013 whistleblower case reporting racial discrimination.

Things did not get off on the right foot for firefighter Larry Jacobs when he started with the SF Fire Department in 2005.  The way he tells it, he and two other Black firefighters were subjected to racial hazing at the fire academy, being told to clean toilets with toothbrushes, and segregated from other trainees during meals, with Jacobs having to eat in his car. He said the training facility “felt like a plantation,” and that he was called “the cleaning boy” and “this houseboy.” Jacobs won a $175,000 settlement in 2013 for racial discrimination.  

That was not the end of Larry Jacobs’s troubles. As the years went on, Jacobs says he was passed over for promotions five times, and alleges it was because he spoke up over these fire academy incidents. Now retired, Jacobs’s claims were credible enough that he won a court case over it in 2022, though the city appealed. And the city has now settled with Jacobs for $1.2 million. NBC Bay Area describes it as “one of the largest whistleblower settlements in San Francisco history.”

“I did everything by the book, because I got the feeling — and no one ever said anything — but I just knew that,” Jacobs told NBC Bay Area in an interview. “I just felt that the command staff, and some of the people that ran the department, wasn't happy with me.”

Indeed, in his second lawsuit against the city over his repeatedly denied promotion requests, one of Jacobs’s commanders testified that Jacobs was called a “shit disturber,” and his higher-ups said “we don’t need that kind of trouble” in the arson unit in which Jacobs was trying to get hired.

The City of San Francisco lost the original 2022 case, also lost on appeal, and is now settling for $1.2 million, which the City Attorney’s Office told NBC Bay Area “an appropriate resolution given the inherent costs of continued litigation.”

Jacobs’s attorney Jane Brunner argued that the settlement is a sign that the SF Fire Department still has deep cultural problems, as they still don’t admit any wrongdoing.

“The department needs to be fixed,” she said to NBC Bay Area. “You don't fix a problem until you acknowledge a problem.”

Related: Victim In Brutal Alleged SF Firefighter-On-Firefighter Attack Speaks Out, Story Even Crazier Than We Realized [SFist]

Image: SAN FRANCISCO, CA – APRIL 22, 2018: San Francisco Fire Department logo on side of ambulance (Getty Images)

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Rodrigo Lopez, a 35-year-old busser at Zuni Cafe, used CPR to save a guest experiencing cardiac arrest earlier this month. The man recently returned to Zuni to thank Lopez, and SFFD plans to honor Lopez with a plaque.

As KTVU reports, the guest was having lunch outside with his family on a busy afternoon on August 9 when he collapsed on the ground. Lopez reportedly jumped into action, giving the guest chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“We were clapping for him that day. The whole restaurant started clapping for Rodrigo because everybody saw what he did. Guests were looking out the window watching everything happen in front of them,” Zuni Cafe manager Kevin Hinds told KTVU. “It was very touching. It was emotional.”

KTVU writes that Lopez worked as a lifeguard and CPR instructor in Spain and Argentina for ten years. He told KTVU he hadn’t utilized his life-saving skills until this month.

The guest has since recovered and recently returned to Zuni with a handwritten note and gift, thanking Lopez, per KTVU.

Upon finding out the guest survived, Lopez told KTVU, “It was amazing. That was the best part for me.”

Zuni Cafe gushed over its star employee in a recent Instagram post, per KTVU. “Hero. Teammate. Lifesaver. In a moment of crisis, @monito_rgl gave a customer a second chance at life,” the caption says. “When seconds mattered, Rodrigo didn't hesitate.”

“We are beyond proud to have this kind of heart and courage in our Zuni family. Not all heroes wear capes, some wear aprons,” the cafe continued.

KTVU reports that San Francisco Fire Department announced the agency will be honoring Lopez’s heroism with a plaque.

Image: Zuni Cafe/Instagram