March 19--San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin criticized Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White as a residential and commercial building in his district burned, saying that firefighters had been slow to pour water on the blaze and that he had been unable to reach the chief as the emergency unfolded.
"This was an abject failure of the Fire Department," said Peskin, leader of the board's progressive faction, as smoke poured from the building across from Washington Square Park in North Beach on Saturday night.
Eight residents were displaced from the building at 659 Union St., and 10 businesses were damaged. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hayes-White was at the scene in her fire jacket and helmet and defended her department's efforts, saying firefighters were concentrating on battling flames inside the building and making sure no one was trapped before spraying water from the outside.
Fire crews arrived within two minutes of getting a call at 7:24 p.m., Hayes-White said.
"We're professional firefighters," she said. "We know what we're doing."
But that didn't satisfy Peskin, who fumed 10 feet away. He'd rushed to the fire from a dinner at the New Asia restaurant in Chinatown, after receiving a text message at 7:30 p.m.
"They didn't put water on the fire for half an hour," he said. Peskin was also enraged that he'd been unable to reach Hayes-White quickly after the fire broke out.
"I was calling the chief repeatedly, and her voice-mail box was full," he said.
The supervisor said he planned to call for an independent investigation of the department's response to the blaze.
Peskin has a history of clashing with city department heads, including Hayes-White. He attacked her after an April 21 fire at a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. substation in the Tenderloin knocked out power downtown and in the northern areas of the city.
Afterward, Peskin and Supervisor London Breed held a hearing to address what they saw as an ill-prepared department and a lack of communication between fire officials and the utility.
During that hearing, Peskin poked holes in Hayes-White's assertions that the department holds regular training sessions to prepare for substation fires. He said the city should monitor the Fire Department's response times "on an ongoing basis."
After three people died during a record heat wave in September, Peskin, Breed and Supervisor Jane Kim held another City Hall hearing, at which Peskin chastened the chief and other department heads for what he said was sluggish handling of a crisis.
At least one member of the city commission that oversees the Fire Department accused Peskin of crossing a line on Saturday by criticizing her while her crews fought an active fire.
Fire Commission member Joe Alioto Veronese rebutted Peskin's remarks in a lengthy Facebook post.
"You may read some controversial statements criticizing our members from people outside the fire services that don't understand fire science strategy and priorities," Veronese wrote.
He defended firefighters' strategy of going through a building interior before spraying water on the structure, saying, "Our mission is to save and protect lives, then property."
"The valiant effort of the San Francisco Fire Department speaks for itself," Mayor Mark Farrell said. "No lives were lost, and no civilian injuries occurred. While there is a live four-alarm fire burning, it is inappropriate for anybody to criticize how the professional firefighters of the SFFD, with decades of experience, are handling the situation. I have full confidence in Fire Chief Hayes-White, and I applaud the work of the brave men and women of SFFD."
Peskin toned down his comments Sunday morning, but didn't back off entirely. "I have great respect for the working men and women of the San Francisco Fire Department -- always have, always will," he said. "But some of their management I have concerns about."
Hayes-White has been chief for 14 years, and Peskin isn't the only official with whom she has had tense relations.
Breed called for her resignation in September 2014 after the city's slow ambulance response times became a public concern. Two months later, Breed, who was by then contemplating a run for the board presidency, eased up on her criticism.
On Saturday night, Breed stood beside Hayes-White at the fire scene and praised "the men and women of our Fire Department."
Peskin's remarks put the head of the San Francisco firefighters union in an awkward position. The union has sparred for years with Hayes-White over staffing and equipment issues, and in 2014 even voted no confidence in her.
But on Sunday, union president Tom O'Connor stopped short of endorsing Peskin's comments.
"We're caught between two worlds," O'Connor said. "We understand Peskin's concerns about management of the Fire Department. But the actions of our men and women last night were heroic."
Chronicle staff writer Trisha Thadani contributed to this report.
Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @rachelswan
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