More than 15 San Francisco neighborhoods could burn to the ground due to a lack of water at the SF Fire Department’s disposal after a major earthquake.

A plan to expand the city’s emergency firefighting network was stalled for years because of political interference and one city agency’s refusal to ask voters for the money that is needed to protect neighborhoods in the southern and western parts of the city. Critics say alternative plans being promoted are likely to fail, leaving vulnerable city residents, like seniors and the disabled, to perish in a firestorm of the city’s making or to suffer the consequences of disease and other maladies due to a lack of fresh water after a disaster.

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FOLLOW THIS LINK TO READ THE COMMENTARY BY THOMAS W. DOUDIET, RETIRED ASSISTANT DEPUTY CHIEF WITH THE SF FIRE DEPARTMENT

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO READ THE REPLY FROM CITY AGENCIES TO OUR FIREFIGHTING STORIES.

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO READ THE LATEST COMMENTARY BY EDITOR PAUL KOZAKIEWICZ ON OUR CITY’S VULNERABILITY TO FIRES AFTER AN EARTHQUAKE