In her first public comments about three pending lawsuits against the department alleging anti-LGBTQ discrimination, lesbian San Francisco Fire Chief Jeanine Nicholson told the Bay Area Reporter she has made it clear such behavior is unacceptable.
Nicholson had declined an interview with the B.A.R. earlier this year after lesbian Assistant Fire Chief Nicol Juratovac became the third — and highest ranking — member of the LGBTQ community to publicly accuse the department of discrimination in 2021.
The B.A.R. was able to pose a question to Nicholson — the city's first LGBTQ fire chief — at an event she attended at Manny's, a gay-owned cafe and event space in the Mission neighborhood.