San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the city's lesbian outgoing fire chief announced a new interim leader for the city's fire department had been selected at a news conference September 3.
Sandy Tong, a 35-year veteran of the San Francisco Fire Department, was sworn in by Breed at the department's headquarters, at which time the three made remarks. Tong is the first Chinese American to lead the SFFD, and the third woman in a row, after Joanne Hayes-White and Jeanine Nicholson, the latter of whom formally stepped down September 3 after confirming she has "some health issues," as the Bay Area Reporter previously reported.
Nicholson — the department's first LGBTQ chief — had been selected in 2019.
Tong is not LGBTQ, a spokesperson for the mayor's office told the B.A.R. It's now up to the fire commission to forward nominees for a permanent replacement to the mayor's office, which hasn't worked on the timetable for that process to take place as of press time.
Tong thanked Breed, Nicholson, and Fire Commission President Armie Morgan. The commission had met in closed session earlier September 3.
"I am humbled by the opportunity and will serve you to the best of my ability," Tong told Breed in her remarks. She thanked the mayor for supporting a 2021 budget supplement for bringing on 60 new emergency medical technicians.
That's personal for Tong — who has spent all of her 35 years working in emergency medical services. Until her appointment, Tong was the deputy chief of EMS and community paramedicine.
Breed had noted that while "the fire department does an extraordinary job responding to emergencies, putting out fires and doing all the work," upward of 80% of SFFD calls go through the EMS division.
Tong didn't get into any specific changes she might want to bring to the department, saying, "We will continue to meet the day-to-day challenges of making the city safe."
She did thank Nicholson for her time as chief.
"I'm so grateful to have worked for you the last five years," Tong said.
Nicholson, for her part, expressed that she is "incredibly confident" in Tong's leadership abilities; the outgoing chief had served under her before she became chief in 2019, she said.
"She was my supervisor when I was a paramedic in the 2000s," Nicholson said. "Let me tell you: she suffers no fools. ... She knows what she's doing and she is a hard worker."
Breed touted Tong's background as a native San Franciscan, born at Chinese Hospital on Jackson Street.
"She has deep roots in Chinatown," the mayor said. "As someone in the department for 35 years, she knows every inch and corner of this city."
Fire Commissioner Steve Nakajo was similarly enthused, telling the B.A.R., "I think it's historically significant in terms of a local Chinese American woman in San Francisco, born and raised in San Francisco, 30-plus years of experience, who came in the beginning of the paramedicine division of the San Francisco Fire Department, has overseen our programs from EMS 6 to crisis [response] teams, and has a tremendous amount of skill and talent.
"San Francisco will greatly benefit from her selection," he added.
Morgan stated in a news release that the commissioners unanimously agreed to Tong's selection.
"While the commission continues our process to help identify a long-term leader of the San Francisco Fire Department, we are confident that Chief Tong has the experience and leadership to keep this Department moving forward and keep our city safe," he stated.
Tong's mother is an immigrant from Canton on mainland China; her father is from Chinatown. She earned a bachelor's degree in Sino-Soviet relations from U.C. Berkeley as well as a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology, according to the release. She also served as supervisor at Station 49 (off Bayshore Boulevard) managing the personnel, fleet, and operations of the dynamically deployed ambulance division, according to the department's website.
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