Last month, on a dark and foggy Outer Sunset night, San Francisco police officers and firefighters met to settle some differences, and 11 fights broke out. 

But it was no back alley brawl. It was the second annual Fights in the Fog, cops versus firefighters, a fundraiser for youth sports across the city. The event doesn’t get much publicity, and it doesn’t need it. The Irish Cultural Center, across the street from the zoo, was sold out and jam-packed with people, cheers, and charitable violence. 

The only rules: “No gambling or fighting outside of the ring.”

Regular citizens often encounter cops and firefighters in moments of crisis, defined by their uniform and authority. Inside the Irish Cultural Center, that distance fell away. The crowd represented an old-school side of San Francisco that doesn’t get much attention. There were 49ers jackets everywhere, Harleys parked out front, drinks pouring, everyone inside madly cheering on their friends and coworkers. 

The police and fire department command staff were sitting ringside, including interim SFPD chief Paul Yep and his soon-to-be successor, Derek Lew. There were other high profile guests, like District 5 Sup. Bilal Mahmood, but the night didn’t seem to be about politicking. 

Each bout paired an officer against a firefighter of roughly equal weight and experience. Firefighter Michael Stephens, 29, won the first. With a smile, he told The Frisc, “I got a [parking] ticket about a couple months ago. After I got that ticket, I really wanted to punch a cop.” 

Stephens’ bio in the event pamphlet read “I just came to throw these hands,” but he admitted to taking the challenge seriously, training for months and studying his opponent’s technique from last year’s fight. 

The second annual event brought a sold-out crowd to watch firefighters in red brawl with brothers in blue.

‘We got the brawlers’

While none of the fighters are strangers to danger, for many it was their first time stepping into a boxing ring. All contestants interviewed said they signed up to help raise money, inspired by last year’s turnout.

Anthony Petuya came with the entire crew of the fire department’s Station 19, a five-minute drive from the Irish Cultural Center. They showed up in full uniform to watch their colleagues fight. 

“For both departments, it’s just pride,” said Petuya. “It’s one of the longest standing rivalries, but we all love this city so it’s cool to come together.” 

The Station 19 crew showed up in uniform to watch their colleagues fight.

When asked who makes for better fighters, Petuya said, “I know police have to fight for a living, but we got the brawlers on the firefighter side.”

The stakes were friendly. The cops promised to wash a fire truck if they lost, and firefighters said their station-house cooks would feed the cops a cioppino dinner — another nod to San Francisco history and tradition.

While mustaches and burly arms were abundant, fighters came in all types and ages. Some were San Francisco natives, others repped Oakland. Some fights went lightning fast, middleweights dancing across the ring, others lasted several rounds with big bruising heavyweights. 

SFPD Commander Tom Maguire and his brother Dan, a professional boxer, first organized fights for charity at the Irish Cultural Center in 2001. It was only last year that the fire vs. police format began in earnest. 

The police and fire have a long history with a connection to our Irish-American heritage. Boxing is definitely in the family, and policing is in the family.

SFPD Commander Tom Maguire

Maguire, a third generation San Franciscan, has been on the force for 20 years. His maternal grandfather was a San Francisco cop, and his father immigrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

“I know police have to fight for a living, but we got the brawlers on the firefighter side,” said SFFD’s Anthony Petuya.

The Irish connection also runs through Fire in the Ring, the gym where fighters trained together in the months prior. Based in the Cow Palace, just across the county line in Daly City, the gym was founded by coach Jimmy Ford, a former boxer whose parents immigrated from Donegal, Ireland. Ford has been teaching kids “the sweet science” for 21 years with the aim of getting them off the streets. 

“The police and fire have a long history with a connection to our Irish-American heritage,” said Maguire. “Boxing is definitely in the family, and policing is in the family.” 

Fights in the Fog bridged that tradition with newer immigrants and generations now working as first responders. 

The bell rang. Officer Irvin Huerta and firefighter Danny Nguyen sprang into the middle of the ring. Huerta, 39, dressed in blue with golden shoes, won the fight in the first minute of the first round. “He came out like a savage, like a baby pitbull,” said Ford, who praised him for putting in a lot of work. 

“I truly appreciate the sport, because it’s a dangerous sport,” Huerta told The Frisc a bit later. “[It’s] like our job — our job is dangerous, but it’s so rewarding.”

Irvin Huerta decided to become a police officer after losing a childhood friend to gun violence. He won his fight in the first few minutes.

“When you’re in the ring, that fire that you have inside comes out,” continued Huerta, who grew up in the Mission and Bayview and whose mother came from Colombia. He wanted to become a police officer after losing his childhood friend to gun violence. 

“I wanted to give back to people that have it hard, always thinking that I could be a cop that is community oriented,” said Huerta. “People are scared of police, but I just wanted to be different and try to be a positive role model for my community, for young Hispanic men, just young men in general.”

Next year: Cow Palace? 

The last bout pitted two heavyweights, an SFFD medic and a SWAT team officer, was a slugfest. Punches sent both of the giants stumbling and crashing like falling trees. “Heavy hands, heavy weight,” said winner Dan Hernandez, 40, representing the fire department. “It was a great fight.”

SFFD’s Dan Hernandez won the last bout of the night. “It was a great fight.”

After more than two hours of fights, several spectators looked punch-drunk too, but without the punches. The night’s results came over the loudspeakers: Of the 11 bouts, the police won six, firefighters five. 

(Last night, SFFD invited the cops over for that cioppino dinner. And a mayoral photo-op.)

The MC, Dan Maguire, called Coach Ford into the ring to thank him, then declared Huerta the night’s champion for his speed and aggression in what was the shortest fight of the event. 

Huerta stepped into the ring, wearing his Fire in the Ring gym hoodie, to get his champion’s belt and take a picture with the SFPD command staff. When asked what motivated him, Huerta said, “I train hard for my family. I have three kids and a beautiful wife and they keep me going everyday.”

As the crowd filtered out, Ford surveyed the floor and mused that next year, they might have to rent out the entire Cow Palace — which can hold thousands — to fit everyone in. It couldn’t get more old-school San Francisco than that. 

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