San Francisco Fire Department

Unusual Occurrence
04/11/2022

From:
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On the morning of April 5, 2022, at 0406am, Box 5165, Incident number 22043125, while
responding with lights and sirens heading east on 17th Street, Engine 12 encountered a stopped
Rerology truck ln our lane.
2. The driver was out of the truck collecting trash.
3. Normally I would have gone around the stopped truck, but at the same time, a "self-driving" car from
the company Cruise with no human in the driver's seat, drove up in the opposing lane heading west and
STOPPED exactly next to the Recology truck.
4. Engine 12 was dead in the water until the Recology driver came running and moved the garbage
truck, at which time we were able to continue on to the working fire.

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E12
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04/12/2022 Info Only Law,C

04/13f.!022 - Contents Noted Cofflln,K

 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
06/13/2022

From : H 20- E14

To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On June 12, 2022 at 23:50 hours Engine 14 was the supply engine at a working fire incident#
22075217.
2. E14 had charged large lines lying across the street supplying E31 down Fu.nston Ave. from the Anza
St. intersection. _
3. An autonomous vehicle heading west on Anza approached the charged large lines and came to a
complete stop before accelerating up to approximately 10-15 mph as it proceeded over hose leads and
on to the Park Presidio street light. ·
4. The crew of E14 and an SFPD Officer controlling traffic observed this unoccupied self driving vehicle
perform this hazardous driving behavior.
5. Battali9n 7 Chief - was notified of this observed occurrence.
6. No fire department property or personnel were harmed by this occurrence.
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06/13/2022 Acknowledged Cofflin,I<

06/13/2022 Info Only CD1

 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
01/22/2023

From: H 2- BE

To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. At fire at 1310 Hayes last night an electric car with no driver kept driving towards fire scene and was
going to run over our hoses and possibly put our firefighters at risk.
2. I yelled at car twice to stop, banging with my fist on hood.
3.After warning car twice I smashed the window and the vehicle stopped .
thank you
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01/23/2023 Acknowledged Cofflln,K

01/24/2023 Contents Noted Flores,R

 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
01/24/2023

From: H 20- E36

To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On 24 Jan 2023 at Laguna and Hayes streets (#23011518) my crew was extinguishing an outside
fire on the sidewalk.
2. E36 was parked in the middle of the street with all of its' emergency lights on.
3. A "Cruise" driverless vehicle rapidly approached us and stopped between the Engine and my crew.
4. We were unable to move the car and it was stopped on top of our hoseline.
5. I was able to speak to the operator via the car intercom and they were able to move the car after an
additional 5 minutes.
6. there was no damage to the hose reel or any injuries.
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01/24/2023 Forwarded E36

01/24/2023 Contents Noted Schwartz,M

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01/25/2023 Contents Noted CO2

01/25/2023 Acknowledged CD1

01/25/2023 Contents Noted Cofflin,K

01/25/2023 Acknowledged Flores,R

 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
03/11/2023

From: - H 30 - T03
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On March 11 at approximately 22:05 Truck 3 was returning from a call going westbound on the 800
block of Geary Street, and encountered two autonomous Cruise vehicles blocking the road.
2. Geary Is one way with two traffic lanes and cars parked on both sides. Several cars were double
parked on the le~ side. This is becoming a more common problem in Itself.
3. The autonomous vehicles were In the red painted bus lane on the right side, opposite the
other double parked cars on the left. I believe one of the autonomous cars was very slowly moving or
repositioning when we were approximately half a block back. Truck 3 was not using any code 3 lights or
the siren. The space between the double parked cars on either side was not enough for Truck 3 to safely
pass. I rang the officer's bell several times hoping for someone to move. I then gave a very short blast
of the airhorn. At least one of the Cruise vehicles moved slightly (inches), but not In a deliberate
fashion, and it did not clear the road. The Cruise vehicles were midblock with no other vehicles in front
of them. They were not waiting for a red light. I climbed out of Truck 3 and approached the two
vehicles. Neither car had a driver or passenger. The vehicle in the rear st;arted to move before the
vehicle In the front. It pulled out slowly toward me as if to go around the other Cruise vehicle and then
stopped. Eventually both vehicles moved, but there was not a deliberate attempt to leave the road dear
in the first place or a deliberate attempt to get out of the way when prompted by Truck 3's bell or horn.
Both vehicles started with slow jerky movements as if they didn't know what to do.
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03/13/2023 Acknowledged Cofflin,K

03/20/2023 Contents Noted Flores,R

 San Francisco Fire Department
U11usufll Occurrence
03/24/2023

From: -H20-E25
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On March 21st, 2023, (on Incident# FD23039379) at 706 Missouri, I was the officer of Engine 25
and encountered several Waymo cars that were driverless and posed a risk to fire personnel.
2. Engine 25 responded to a downed tree on a vehicle. Upon arrival, Engine 25 noted there were no
wires down, a large tree was blod<ing Missouri street and there were no occupants/victims in the
damaged vehicle.
3. After trimming tree limbs, putting up caution tape and clearing a lane on Missouri for traffic, Engine
25 noted a vehlde driving northbound on Missouri at a fast rate of speed. Engine 25 attempted. to slow
down the vehicle by shining their box light on the driver as there were fire service personnel working in
the area.
4. The vehicle was a driverless Waymo vehicle and finally stopped last minute a few feet from Engine 25
(Engine 25 had it's Code 3 lights on). The officer of Engine 25 noted another vehide coming the same
direction at a fast rate of speed and tried to slow it down. It was also a driverless Waymo vehicle
that slowed down last minute and swerved to it's left to avoid crashing into the 1st Waymo vehicle. This
2nd Waymo vehicle stopped a few feet from the officer of Engine 25.
5. Luckily we had just finished working on the tree and had the fire engine to create a barrier between
us and the Waymo vehicles if needed. Had we been working on the downed tree In the dark and those
two Waymo vehicles came down the hill ( northbound on Missouri) at their fast rate of speed, I am
unsure those driverless vehicles would have stopped in time to avoid hitting fire service personnel.

--
6. Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

Lieutenant- Engine 25

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 Sari Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurre11ce
03/24/2023

From: -H30-E41
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On March 21, 2022, Engine 41 responded to multiple calls of trees, and wires down, due to the
extreme weather.
2. Many of these calls were along Clay street from Polk to Jones, where multiple downed trees had
brought down Munl "trolley" high voltage overhead wires.
3. Munl responded at Engine 41's request, and was able to de-energize the lines, mitigating the electrical
hazard.
4. The lines still possessed a physical hazard as they lay on the ground in some locations, and then
returned to the next pole in an arc.
5. Engine 41 cordoned off multiple intersections to keep traffic from driving up streets into the low
hanging muni wires.
6. One of the streets dosed off, with Caution tape and Caution sandwich boards, was the 1400 block of
Clay street, between Hyde and Leavenworth.
7. At 21 :56 incident # <23039567>, Engine 41 responded to the Intersection of Oay/Leavenworth for
an "electrical hazard".
8. Upon arrival we discovered two Cruise driverless vehicles had driven up Qay street, through our
caution tape at Hyde, continued on, hit the low hanging muni wire and entangling the wire on their roof
elements. The two Cruise vehicles continued ·up aay through our second set of caution tape at
Leavenworth. As they continued up the street, rise in elevation increased the tension of the wire on the
roof, and the two vehicles finally came to a stop in the intersection of aay and Leavenworth.
9. Two Cruise employees arrived on scene. We had them take over manual control of the vehicles. We
had to back the vehicles half a block back down Clay street to release the tension on the wire, to remove
it from their roof elements.
10. This incident raises many serious concerns about the safety of these Cruise driverless vehicles. The
need for these vehicles to recognize a road closed by caution tape, and caution sandwich boards is
imperative. Secondly, the vehlde failed to recognize the large gauge Munl line hanging in its path. If
this wire had still been "hot" this would have been much more hazardous. It is also of note that the
vehicle did not recognize when it hit the heavy wire, or that It was being dragged on its roof top for half
a block.
11. I have attached pictures. Note the caution tape and sandwich board wrapped around the vehicle.
The Muni wire can also been seen on the roof.

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 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
04/14/2023

From: H 20 - E14

To:
Reference: . Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On April 14, 2023, E14, E31, T14 and B07 were conducting a hose line drill in front of Fire Station
14. While operating a hose stream, a self-driving car drove through the stream of water and pulled to
the right side of the road and activated it's hazard lights.
2. The firefighters at the drill had placed traffic cones in the street to create a safe working area and ha<
assigned safety people to monitor road conditions. Prior to the car driving through the stream of water,
the car approched the cones, stopped and then proceeded to drive into the work area.
3. Batt. 07, Chief-approched the car and made verbal contact with the technology attendant and
Informed them of ttie"sltuation and that there was no damage to the car.
4. The attendant was instructed to roll up the windows and proceed away from the drill site.
5. The car company is named Cruise.
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04/17/2023 Acknowledged Cofflln,K

04/18/2023 Acknowledged Flores,R

 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurre11ce
04/17/2023

From:
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1.0n Sunday 4/16/2023 at approximately 23:53 Engine 5 was responding to a full Box at 2488 Geary
Blvd.
2.Engine 5 was the supply engine and drove around the block to back down from the Lyon street side.
3.As we were approaching Geary Blvd from Lyon St we were blocked by a Cruse self driving vehicle.
4.The self driving vehicle would not move and this created an obstacle for water supply.
6.Luckily this was a false alarm and the members on scene were able to improvise.
7.Vehide information: Cruse vehicle is license #751145P3.

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04/18n023 Returned E05
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04/20/2023

04/20/2023 -- Acknowledged

Acknowledged
Cofflin,K

CD1
 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
04/25/2023

From: - H 20 - T11
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On 04/25/2023 at 1025 hours Tll was responding code 3 to Box 8217 at 442 Arlington St. Incident
#23056225
2. Enroute Tll turned left onto Roanoke St from Chenery St. Approaching from the opposite direction
was a driverless Waymo Jaguar vehicle. The vehicle continued to approach until within 10 feet and
stopped. Roanoke is a single lane street with parallel parking on both sides. The vehicle remained
blocking the street. We approached the vehicle on foot, the windows went down and we heard a voice 01
the operator monitoring the vehicle. I informed the monitor that the vehicle was blocking a SFFD
vehicle's response to a SIB Box and that they needed to direct the vehicle into the driveway adjacent to
the car. The monitor responded "yes, I understand." The Waymo vehicle however did not move. I
directed the Tll driver to back up Tll onto Chenery and continue to the call on the next available street
wide enough for the truck, Bosworth St.
3. Battalion 6 was notified as to the reason for our delay. B06 had already cancelled the Box before we
arrived on scene.
4. On our route back to the firehouse we saw another Waymo vehicle that had a operator in the vehicle.
I informed them of what occurred. He stated he would report it and recommend the area to be blocked
for their vehicles as the streets are to narrow for them to operate.

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04/25/2023

04/25/2023 - Info Only

Acknowledged
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Waymo blocking Tll response to Box 8127

A civilian put a picture of this Waymo incident on

04/25/2023

04/25/2023 -- Contents Noted

Contents Noted
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Twitter.
Contents Noted
 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
04/20/2023

From: H 40 - 807
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. At incident #23053861 at approx. 1530 hours on 04/20/23 at a working fire along the corner of
Sacramento and Presidio Blvd., a CRUISE driverless vehicle license plate# 74169C3 came into an active
fire scene at 3249 Sacramento St..
2. When this driverless car first came into the block at Sacramento and Presidio, it stopped initially next
to E51, and then began to jut forward incrementally proceeding east towards the fire scene itself at 324S
Sacramento.
3. As it proceeded, it came into close contact with the driver of E51 who was supplying the main engine
in front of the fire building, other firefighters proceeding to the command post, and also hose supplying
the lead engine in front of the fire building.
4. To stop its forward movement, I had the driver of ESl place chalk blocks on the CRUISE vehicle
driver front tire, stopping its forward movement.
5. RC 2, Cpt. -then gave me the emergency contact number to CRUISE to try to make contact with
the company concerning this vehicle.
6. With contact with the company, the operator after about 8-10 minutes (and with my assistance
stopping traffic) was able to back the car out from the fire scene and the car proceeded north along
Presidio Blvd.

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04/21/2023 Contents Noted

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This erratic behavior continued as the vehicle
drove away impeding MUNI travel.
04/21/2023 Acknowledged We need this addressed, and moved up the
04/21/2023 Acknowledged

- priority list. Its becoming a daily problem

yet another
 San Francisco Fire Department
Unusual Occurrence
04/25/2023

- H 30 -T03
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. At approximately 21:53 on April 25, 2023 Truck 3 was in route to a building alarm at 1177 Market
Street (Incident #23056522) going Code 3 with lights and siren.
2. Truck 3 was travelling south on Polk Street, and as we approached Geary Street a Cruise autonomous
vehicle was in the right lane west bound on Geary. All traffic was stopped on Polk and Geary except that
the Cruise vehicle was lurching forward in uneven movements toward the intersection. The vehicle came
too close to Truck 3's path. It seemed that if the driver of Truck 3 had slowed down the Cruise vehicle
might have continued in front of us. We were going approximately 5-10 mph after first controlling the
intersection.
3. We could not see a driver or passenger in the vehicle.

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04/25/2023
04/26/2023
04/26/2023
- Contents Noted

Contents Noted

Contents Noted •- noted

As mentioned, driverless car incidents are

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dangerous and frequent.
04/27/2023 Acknowledged

04/27/2023
- Contents Noted another
 San Francisco Fire Department
General Form
04/18/2023

From:
o:
Reference: Email

1. On 4/18/23 incident #23052651 we were operating at a working fire at 1597 Howard st.
2. E36 was on the 12th st side with a supply led from them to E29 supplying on the NW corner.
3. A "Cruise" autonomous vehicle drove Non 12th and stopped in our scene approximately ten feet
from tailboard of E36 and twenty feet from intersection while still an active operation. All FD apparatus
had C3 lights on.
4. We attempted to disable the vehicle
5. Car sat for approximately ten minutes and then drove off on its own accord prior to our ability to
take photos or get plate number.
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 04/26/2023
From:
- H 30 - T03
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. At 1_8:08 on April 26, 2023 I arrived on scene at 2396 Pine Street (Incident #23056929).
2. Engm~ 38 positioned in front of the apartment building, just past the entrance.
3. A Cr~1se autonomous vehicle was behind Engine 38 when they arrived. The Cruise vehicle stopped
approximately 10-15 feet behind the engine.
4. I wanted the vehicle to move so that Truck S would be able to stop behind Engine 38 for a good
aerial shot. I tried waving my arms, and walking at the vehicle from the sidewalk side to encourage it to
go around the engine. Eventually the vehicle moved forward to within approximately 6 feet of Engine
38's tailboard. This made things worse because it was close to compromising a hose lead from 38, and
it would have been hard for the vehicle to turn enough to pass Engine 38 going forward. I would also
be uncomfortable with crew members working at the tailboard as I have seen these vehicles lurch
unexpectedly. I don't trust what might happen with hoses and ladders being carried very close to the
sensors of the vehicle.
5. Around this time Truck 5 arrived. I motioned for the driver to pull up behind the Cruise vehicle with
code 3 lights, hoping the vehicle would move out of the way. I was standing on the sidewalk side of the
vehicle to make it possible for the vehicle to go out into traffic. This did not work.
6. The crew of Truck 5 assisted me with poking and prodding the vehicle, and pounding on the
windows until the driver's window rolled down. This happened a couple minutes after the vehicle initially
stopped. I went to the window and communicated with someone. The individual apologized for the
"inconvenience", and said a team was working on moving the car. Even after talking to him the car did
not immediately get moved from the scene. I informed him that this time it was an "inconvenience", but
if someone needed to be rescued by the Truck it could have been a life and death situation.
7. If the same situation occurs behind an aerial truck it may be difficult or impossible to remove wooden
ladders.

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04/26/2023 Contents Noted

- This is an increasing problem. I believe there

are many more incidents that are not being
reported. Instructing BCs to make sure crews
are reporting these for a more accurate picture

04/27/2023 -

04/27/2023 -
Acknowledged

Acknowledged -- of this to report to company and powers that be.

another

number 3 today!
 From: - H 30 - T05
To:
Reference: Rules and Regulations, Section 1128

1. On 4/26/2023 Truck 5, Engine 5 and Battalion 4 were dispatched to a building alarm 1425 Fillmore,
Incident # 2305704 7
2. Both Engine and Truck were facing North in the Southbound lane leaving one lane for through
traffic.
3. As we exited the rigs to gather equipment a "Cruise" autonomous vehicle attempted to squeeze past
both rigs. When the driver of the Truck 5 stepped in front of the vehicle it honked at us and completely
froze blocking any through traffic. There were three passengers in the back seat who were unable to
control the vehicle. I made my way to the window spoke with an operator over the intercom and
explained that this vehicle needs to either wait for all members of the fire department crews to safely
exit the area or pull to the curb. The vehicle was remotely taken over and guided past our emergency
vehicles.
4. As these autonomous vehicles are learning traffic patterns they have become more aggressive with
first responder units and their attempts to navigate around them. They could potentially delay fast,
aggressive hose leads as well as impede ladder and tool removal from trucks.
5. This was our second such interaction today. First was UO submitted by Battalion 4 Incident#
23056929

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04/26/2023 - Contents Noted

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04/27/2023 Contents Noted Contents noted

04/27/2023 Contents Noted More Cruise

-
04/27/2023 - Acknowledged another

04/27/2023 - Contents Noted another