San Francisco has seen a significant increase in homeless encampment fires over the past five years, with the San Francisco Fire Department reporting a doubling of emergency responses to such fires since 2019, totaling more than 800 incidents in the last year. One theory for the surge in fires is the use of hand sanitizer, which can act as a fire accelerant. The city is facing a pressing need to create more housing options, including drug-free housing, shelter, and treatment, to address this issue.
New reporting from The Standard shows that SF is grappling with a surge in homeless encampment fires. Here’s a breakdown of why those numbers have skyrocketed in the past few years, and what it means for the city. (1/2) https://t.co/jGzdMqJyn0
This is very unfortunate and should serve as an alarm to San Francisco to create more housing options including drug free housing, shelter and treatment. We cannot sustain this version of the status quo. @salvationarmysf @SteveAdami @TheWayOutSF https://t.co/76rS4q6KMi
Fires linked to homeless encampments have increased dramatically the past 5 years, according to SFFD data One theory for the surge? Hand sanitizer—which can help prevent illness but also acts as a fire accelerant 📝@Josh_Koehn @davidfortheppl https://t.co/yBNGXQFIF9
NEW: We asked San Francisco Fire Department to provide reports on every fire connected to homeless encampments going back 10 yrs. The numbers show emergency responses to such fires have doubled since 2019, with more than 800 incidents just last year. https://t.co/7cWNV4C0Z5
San Francisco firefighters and residents are fed up with the massive increase in homeless encampment fires over the last five years. One theory for the spike? Hand sanitizer. https://t.co/gBE0KOBM7v