San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) Chief Jeanine Nicholson on August 14, 2024, officially announced her retirement to take effect at the end of the month due to “unforeseen medical issues.” Sworn in on May 6, 2019, as the 26th Chief of the SFFD, Nicholson is the department’s first openly LGBTQI Chief.
Upon hearing the news, Mayor London Breed said, “Chief Nicholson has been an incredible leader for the San Francisco Fire Department and is retiring with a distinguished and decades-long record of public service. She and the department she leads have kept San Franciscans safe through the COVID pandemic and the challenges of the last few years while also helping launch groundbreaking and life-saving initiatives, like our nationally recognized Street Response Teams. Chief Nicholson has shown extraordinary leadership and dedication to our great city, and we are indebted to her for her service.”
Decades of Service
Chief Nicholson began her career with the SFFD in January of 1994 as a Firefighter EMT. Over the years, she was promoted through the ranks of Firefighter Paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain, and Battalion Chief. She was appointed Deputy Chief of Administration in January 2018, and oversaw a number of divisions including Support Services, Training, Homeland Security, Human Resources, Investigative Services, and Assignment/Personnel Offices.
Chief Nicholson is a member of the California Fire Chiefs Association and California Metro Chiefs Association. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Firescope. Chief Nicholson is a breast cancer survivor and formerly served on the Board of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation. She graduated from Colgate University in New York with a BA in Sociology and Anthropology.
SFFD shared that “Chief Nicholson is a collaborative leader with a deep sense of respect and appreciation for the members of the SFFD. In addition to day-to-day operations, she is also focused on Firefighter Safety, Disaster Preparedness, and Community Paramedicine. Several of her priority projects include Behavioral Health and Succession Planning. In addition, the groundbreaking Street Crisis Response Team and the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Office came about under her leadership. Chief Nicholson has been committed to community service, both on and off the job. She taught for the SFFD’s NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) and volunteered at Camp Blaze (a leadership and empowerment camp for young women learning firefighting skills).”
Champion for Equity
Chief Nicholson has been a great friend and supporter of the San Francisco Bay Times and the local LGBTQI community as a whole. She has often gone above and beyond the call of duty, such as when she and members of her team jumped into action to help a disabled guest of the Bay Times participate in the San Francisco Pride Parade. All of us who know her on and off the job have witnessed her full dedication to being Chief and to being in service to others.
There were many tears as a result at the August 14 event, when Chief Nicholson officially spoke about her retirement. She began by telling her colleagues, city officials, and others present: “Y’all are gonna make me cry! Sit down. There’s no crying in the firehouse.”
One of Chief Nicholson’s greatest achievements was bringing diversity in all respects to the forefront at SFFD. To improve racial equity, in particular, she allowed EMTs, firefighters, and paramedics to participate, along with herself, in the interviewing of new potential hires. By starting the City EMT program, which reaches out to at-risk young adults aged 18–26, she also helped increase numbers of women and people of color in the ranks.
“Because we’re not just about diversity, we’re about equity,” she said at the event. “Some folks didn’t have the same experience as I had growing up, where they had access to a good education, access to a crime-free neighborhood. We wanted to give folks everything that they needed, whether it was trauma counseling, life coaching, financial literacy, whatever to make them, as capable as possible, in succeeding.”
Selfless Concern for the SFFD and San Franciscans
Even as she ended her time at the microphone, Chief Nicholson was still at work, trying to improve the SFFD.
“We do need a fleet replacement plan,” she said, referring to the need for new fire engines. “That is my numero uno. I’m sure somebody will be bugging you about that, Mayor, in the future. If not me, might be me. I don’t know.”
As those in attendance applauded, she wiped away tears and said, “I got lucky to be of service my whole career. Like, who gets to do that? To be of service their whole career? I put my all into it, folks. I really did.”
Mayor London Breed, along with commissioners, SF Fire Department officers, and friends, joined Chief Jeanine Nicholson for the announcement of her retirement at a press conference held at the Fire Department headquarters on August 14.
San Francisco Fire Department LGBTQ Women Pioneers
Published on August 22, 2024
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