Seattle Fire Department

The Seattle Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. The department is responsible for an area of 142.5 square miles (369 km²), including 193 miles (311 km) of waterfront, with a population of 713,700. There is a total of 1,065 employees with 981 uniformed personnel and 84 civilian employees.[2]

Seattle Fire Department

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Washington
City	Seattle
Agency overview[1][2]
Established	1889
Annual calls	191,112(2018)
Employees	1,065 total (2012) - 981 uniformed personnel - 84 civilian employees
Staffing	Career
IAFF	27
Facilities and equipment[2][3]
Divisions	1
Battalions	6
Stations	34
Engines	32
Trucks	12
Squads	2
Rescues	2
Ambulances	8 - ALS 7 - BLS
HAZMAT	1
USAR	1
Wildland	1
Fireboats	4
Rescue boats	2
Website
Official website
IAFF website

History

Seattle Volunteer Fire Company Engine Number 1 in 1883 at the engine house on Columbia Street in a Theodore Peiser photograph

The Seattle Fire Department got its start as a volunteer fire department that was taken over by the City of Seattle on April 11, 1884.[4] On June 6, 1889 the Great Seattle Fire broke out and destroyed over 64 acres (26 ha) of the city. Insurance investigators charged the city with not having adequately trained firefighters to provide protection for the residents.[4] As a result, the Seattle Fire Department was officially established on October 17, 1889 as a paid professional department.

Fire stations/apparatus

Seattle firefighters put out a cargo container fire in the Port of Seattle.

Seattle Fire Department Engine 25

Seattle Fire Department Ladder 6

Seattle Fire Department Medic 80

Seattle Fire Department Battalion 6

As of June 2015 the department operates out of 34 fire stations spread across the city.[5]

Station #	Location	Address	Apparatus/Callsigns
2	Belltown	2320 4th Ave.	A2, A4-Staffed Part Time, E2, L4
3	Fishermen's Terminal	1735 W Thurman St.	Fireboat Chief Seattle, FB1, FB3, FB4
5	Waterfront	925 Alaskan Way	E5, Fireboat Leschi, FB2, Rescue Boat 5, PT520
6	Central District	405 M L King Jr. Way. S	E6, L3
8	Queen Anne	110 Lee St.	E8, L6
9	Fremont	3829 Linden Ave. N	E9
10	Pioneer Square	400 S Washington St.	E10, L1, HAZ1, AIR10, A5, A10 SQ10
11	Highland Park	1514 SW Holden St.	E11 , M/A84 (Reserve Medic /Aid Unit)
13	Beacon Hill	3601 Beacon Ave. S	E13, B5, B55
14	SoDo	3224 4th Ave. S	R1A-Not Staffed During Rescue Calls , R1, R80, A14, SQ14
16	Greenlake	6846 Oswego Pl. NE	E16
17	University District	1050 NE 50th St.	E17, E31 (temporarily), L9, B6, B66, M17
18	Ballard	1521 NW Market St.	E18, L8, B4, B44, M18, HOSE18
20	Interbay	2800 15th Ave. W	E20
21	Greenwood	7304 Greenwood Ave. N	E21, MCI1
22	Montlake	901 E Roanoke St.	E22, COMVAN1
24	Bitter Lake	401 N 130th St.	E24, A31 (temporarily),
25	Capitol Hill	1300 E Pine St.	E25, L10, A25, MVU1, P25, VAULT1, B2, B22 (Reserve Battalion Chief)
26	South Park	800 S Cloverdale St.	E26,M26 ,AIR260,AIR 26,
27	Georgetown	1000 S Myrtle St.	E27, DECON1, REHAB1
28	Rainier Valley	5968 Rainier Ave. S	E28, L12, M28, MMST, USAR1
29	Admiral District	2139 Ferry Ave. SW	E29, spare Engine
30	Mount Baker	2931 S Mount Baker Blvd	E30, MCI2
31	Northgate	1319 N Northgate Way	Closed permanently due to toxic mold; awaiting replacement. Units temporarily assigned to other nearby stations
32	West Seattle	3715 SW Alaska St.	E32, L11,B7, M32
33	Rainier Beach	9645 Renton Ave. S	E33
34	Madison Park	633 32nd Ave. E	E34, HOSE34
35	Crown Hill	8729 15th Ave. NW	E35, M31 (temporarily), AIR240
36	Harbor Island	3600 23rd Ave. SW	E36, MARINE1, MARINE80 (Reserve Marine)
37	High Point	7700 35th Ave. SW	E37, L13 ,B77 (Reserve Battalion Chief)
38	Laurelhurst	4004 NE 55th St.	E38, E85 (Reserve Engine), A86 (Reserve Aid Unit) SQ40 (Wildland Firefighting Apparatus)
39	Lake City	2806 NE 127th St.	E39, L5 (temporarily), MAB1
40	Wedgwood	9401 35th Ave. NE	E40
41	Magnolia	2416 34th Ave. W	E41
HMC	Harborview Medical Center	325 9th Ave.	M1, M10, M44 & M45(EMS Supervisors), M80 (Reserve Medic Unit), B3 (EMS Battalion Chief)
HQ	Headquarters	310 2nd Ave. S	DEP1, PIO, DEP11, SAFT2 , MAR5, MAR55, MAR1, HEALTH1, STAFF 10

Apparatus glossary/callsigns

• Engine (E)
• Ladder (L)
• Aid - Basic Life Support (A)
• Air Unit (AIR10 / AIR26)
• Battalion Chief (B)
• Chaplain units (CHAP3, CHAP4, CHAP5, CHAP7)
• Command, Control & Communication Unit (COM1)
• Decontamination Unit (DECON1)
• Deputy Chiefs (DEP1, DEP11)
• EMS/Paramedic Supervisor (M44 / M45 / M46)
• Fire Boat (FB)
• Fire Chief (234)
• Assistant Chief of Operations (89)
• Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) / Fire Marshall (MAR1, MAR5, MAR55)
• Fire Rescue Boat (FRB)
• Hazardous Materials Unit (HAZ1)
• Hose / Foam Wagon (HOSE18 / HOSE34)
• Marine Unit (MARINE1)
• Medic - Advanced life support (M)
• Medical Ambulance Bus (MAB1)
• Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST)
• Mobile Air Compressor (AIR240 / AIR260)
• Mobile Ventilation Unit (MVU1)
• Mass Casualty Incident Unit (MCI1 / MCI2)
• Power/CO2 Unit (P25)
• Public Information Officer Unit (PIO)
• Reserve Aid - BLS Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (A84)
• Reserve Battalion Chiefs (B22, B33, B44, B55, B66, B77)
• Reserve Engine Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (E85)
• Reserve Ladder Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (L84)
• Reserve Medic - ALS Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (M80)
• Reserve Heavy Rescue Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (R80)
• Seattle Police Harbor Patrol Boat (Responds with Seattle Fire Department for most marine incidents) (PTRL4)
• Squad & Wildland Unit (SQ40)
• Staff & Incident Command System (ICS) Support Unit (STAF10)
• Safety Chief (SAFT2)
• Technical Rescue Unit (R)
• Rehabilitation (REHAB1)
• Urban Search & Rescue Unit (USAR1)

Notable incidents

Great Seattle Fire

On June 6, 1889, the Great Seattle Fire broke out in a cabinet shop located at the corner of 1st Avenue and Madison Street.[4] The flames spread rapidly and the small volunteer department was unable to slow the fire with the town's small water systems. By the time the fire was extinguished, 64 acres (26 ha) of homes and businesses had been destroyed.[4]

Pang warehouse fire

On January 5, 1995, the Mary Pang's Food Products warehouse burned in the International District. Four firefighters died when the floor of the warehouse collapsed. It was later determined that the fire was set by Martin Pang, the son of the owner. Seattle's Fallen Firefighters Memorial was built to remember the four who perished.[6]

In popular culture

• In the 1965 film, The Slender Thread, starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft, the Seattle Fire Department dispatch center, as well as the interior of Fire Station # 2 are shown and Aid Unit 2 is seen responding to a report of a suicide attempt.
• In 1979, in the Emergency! TV series' movie-of-the-week "Most Deadly Passage", the main characters visit Seattle for a ride-along with Medic One.
• In 1985, the department released a cartoon film on fire safety, named The House on the Hill.
• The 2018 ABC television series Station 19, another spinoff of the Seattle-set medical drama Grey's Anatomy, is set in the Department and is the first ever TV series to feature it.
• In G.I. Joe, the Lifeline character is a paramedic with the SFD.

References

1. "Emergency Response Totals". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
2. "Department Profile". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
3. "Apparatus Showcase". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
4. Stein, Alan (2 September 2002). "Seattle Fire Department is created on October 17, 1889". HistoryLink. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
5. "Stations". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
6. "10 years ago, four perished in Pang warehouse blaze". seattlepi.com. 4 Jan 2005. Retrieved 7 November 2016.

External links

• Third Rail, newspaper of Seattle Fire Fighter's Union Local 27, from the Labor Press Project