Tag Archives: Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick

Benicia ISO Coalition awarded SF Baykeeper’s 2025 Community Partner Award

“So many people worked so hard and for so many years to achieve this.”

Benicia ISO Advocates gather at San Francisco’s Dolphin Club to celebrate the Baykeeper’s 2025 Blue Rivet Award. PHOTO: Michaela Joy Photography

Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO), 5/25/25

Benicia, CA—A coalition of Benicia citizen activists and government leaders has been awarded the 2025 San Francisco Baykeeper’s Blue Rivet Award for its work in passing the Benicia Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISHO). The group was presented the award at the annual SF Baykeeper Celebration of Community of Support on Saturday, May 17 at San Francisco’s Dolphin Club.

Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh presents the 2025 Blue Rivet Award to Benicia City Council Member Kari Birdseye and BISHO member Terry Mollica. PHOTO: Michaela Joy Photography

SF Baykeeper Executive Director Sejal Choksi-Chugh presented the award to Benicia Council member Kari Birdseye and BISHO member Terry Mollica with more than a dozen other Benicia ISO advocates attending.

Birdseye and fellow Benicia Council member Terry Scott were the sponsors and advocates for passage of the Benicia ISHO. After the Council voted in December 2023 to have City staff study the issue of formulating a specific Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance for Benicia, Birdseye, Scott and Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick spent months talking with citizens, stakeholders, businesses, and others to determine the best piece of legislation to monitor and protect Benicia’s air quality. Last month, the Council voted unanimously to pass the draft ISO.

Benicia Industrial Safety and Health Ordinance (BISHO) group is a citizens advocacy group which was founded in early 2023 to work toward passage of a strong ISO. More than 265 supporters became part of the group calling for more accountability from Valero and other industrial companies in the City.

For several years, Benicia has had a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) specifically with Valero but it was long believed and advocated that a stronger, more accountable and enforceable ordinance was necessary, particularly in light of ongoing violations. Benicia was the only refinery city in the Bay Area without such an ordinance. Passage of an ISO came close in 2018 but ultimately was not passed by the then-City Council who opted for the MOU. BISHO was formed as an outgrowth of the 2018 effort.

SF Baykeeper was founded in 1989 with the mission to defend the San Francisco Bay and its watershed by holding polluters and government agencies accountable to create healthier communities and help wildlife thrive. The organization uses a unique combination of investigation, advocacy, and litigation to defend the Bay’s waters and the Bay Area’s communities including science field teams that use boats and drones to patrol the waters checking on reports of polluters and legal teams that challenge polluters in court.

The annual Blue Rivet Award honors individuals and groups who have made a significant difference for San Francisco Bay. The Blue Rivet Award includes a plaque with an actual Golden Gate Bridge rivet representing individual efforts by the many community members and businesses that join together to create a thriving, healthy San Francisco Bay.

“The Benicia Industrial and Safety Ordinance is a pivotal legislative public health safeguard that was created through a process of transparency and substantial community outreach,” said Benicia Council Member Terry Scott, who co-sponsored the Ordinance. “And Saturday, we celebrated how a community focused on working toward solving a common problem can come together and achieve greatness.”

“We are honored to be recognized by SF Baykeeper for the success in passing the ISO,” Mollica said. “So many people worked so hard and for so many years to achieve this. All of Benicia should be proud of this significant move toward making our community safer, cleaner and an even better place to live, work and raise families.”

Valero structure on fire – shelter in place if you smell smoke!

Citizen alerts circulated on BeniciaResist around 9:15 AM. Solano Alert went out at 9:34 AM.

Photo by Larnie Fox around 9:39 AM
Latest update from Solano Fire Department on its Facebook page at 10:10 AM:

AMPORTS, Valero and consumers could be hit hard by Benicia Port Fire

Benicia Port Fire Could Spur New Round of Inflation

KPIX 5 News, Da Lin reports, April 10, 2022

It took fire crews 24 hours to extinguish the dock fire in Benicia.
Now the port and the companies that use it are taking stock of the possible economic impact.

 

Benicia port fire fully extinguished

Benicia port fire fully extinguished, officials say; cause still being determined

ABC7 Bay Area News, By Cornell Barnard, Ryan Curry, April 10, 2022

BENICIA, Calif. (KGO) — A four-alarm fire that burned beneath a commercial pier for nearly 24 hours at Benicia Port has been extinguished, and water clean-up efforts are underway, city officials said in a press release Sunday.

The fire, first reported at 12:20 p.m. Saturday, broke out in the 1000 block of Bayshore Drive, adjacent to the Amports port terminal. It was burning at the base of a petroleum coke silo, with flames traveling up a conveyer belt toward a docked tanker ship.

The video above is from a previous report.

Thick black smoke filled the air Saturday as fire engines and fire boats attacked the inferno from all sides.

Fire crews from across Solano County raced to the scene off Bayshore Road. The fire began just before noon, five hours later it was still burning. ABC7 News cameras captured the moment parts of the dock collapsed into the water.

At a 4:30p.m. press conference, an official said that “no injuries have been reported.”

Ships anchored at the Port were moved away for safety into the Carquinez Straights, including an oil tanker.

“This is crazy, it’s scary because they offload gas and oil here,” said Tony Ciarrochi from Benicia.


Longshoreman working at the port were told to leave.

“I’m feeling panicky because we can’t get down there, some of our coworkers are still in there, it’s a toxic situation right now,” said Longshoreman Gail Day.

No one was hurt in the fire but Benicia fire officials were concerned about hazardous materials on the pier like creosote, which could harm the environment.

Fire officials believe the fire could burn for 24 hours at least. A cause is still under investigation.

The fire was burning adjacent to a historic park where a wedding was scheduled Saturday but the area was ordered evacuated. The wedding party was looking for a backup plan.

“We’re sending all the guests to another location to regroup and see if we can hold the wedding at a park, a house or anywhere we can,” said photographer David Hall.

No shelter-in-place order was issued for nearby residents. But health officials in Contra Costa County advised the public to limit outdoor activities.

The Solano County Fire Investigation Unit is working to determine the cause of the fire.

The city will then work with Valero and Amports on port repairs and reconstruction efforts.

Bay City News contributed to this report.