Seattle Fire Department

Summary

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
CitySeattle
Agency overview[1][2]
Established1889
Annual calls191,112(2018)
Employees
  • 1,065 total employees
  • • 981 uniformed personnel
  • • 84 civilian employees
StaffingCareer
IAFF27, 2898
Facilities and equipment[2][4]
Battalions6[3]
Stations34[3]
Engines32
Trucks12
Rescues1
Ambulances
  • 9 ALS (Advanced Life Support)
  • 7 BLS (Basic Life Support)
HAZMAT1
USAR1
Wildland1
Fireboats4
Rescue boats1
Website
Official website
IAFF website

History edit

 
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.[5] 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.[5] As a result, the Seattle Fire Department was officially established on October 17, 1889, as a paid professional department.

Fire stations and apparatus edit

 
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 April 2021 the department operates out of 34 fire stations spread across the city.[6]

Fire Station Number Location Address Engine Company Ladder Company Aid or Medic Units Special Units Chief or Supervisor Units
2 Belltown 2320 4th Ave. Engine 2 Ladder 4 Aid 2

Aid 4 (Staffed Part Time)

3 Fishermen's Terminal 1735 W Thurman St. Fireboat 1


Fireboat 4

Fireboat Chief Seattle
5 Waterfront 925 Alaskan Way Engine 5 Fireboat Leschi

Fireboat 2

Rescue Boat 5

PT 520

6 Central District 405 M L King Jr. Way. S Engine 6 Ladder 3
8 Queen Anne 110 Lee St. Engine 8 Ladder 6
9 Fremont 3829 Linden Ave. N Engine 9
10 International District 400 S Washington St. Engine 10 Ladder 1 Aid 5

Aid 10

Hazardous Materials Unit 1 (HAZ1)

Air Unit 10

Staff 10

11 Highland Park 1514 SW Holden St. Engine 11 Medic/Aid 84 (Reserve Medic/Aid Unit)
13 Beacon Hill 3601 Beacon Ave. S Engine 13 Battalion Chief 5 Battalion Chief 55
14 SoDo 3224 4th Ave. S Rescue 1 (R1)

Rescue 80 (Reserve Rescue Unit)

Rescue 1 Aerial (Not Staffed During Rescue Calls) Aid 14 (SQ14)
16 Greenlake 6846 Oswego Pl. NE Engine 16
17 University District 1050 NE 50th St. Engine 17

Engine 31

Ladder 9 Medic 17 Battalion Chief 6 Battalion Chief 66
18 Ballard 1521 NW Market St. Engine 18 Ladder 8 Medic 18

Aid 18

Hose & Foam Unit 18 Battalion Chief 4 Battalion Chief 44 (reserve)
20 Interbay 2800 15th Ave. W Engine 20
21 Greenwood 7304 Greenwood Ave. N Engine 21 Mass Casualty Incident Unit 1 (MCI1)
22 Montlake 901 E Roanoke St. Engine 22 Comm 1
24 Bitter Lake 401 N 130th St. Engine 24
25 Capitol Hill 1300 E Pine St. Engine 25 Ladder 10 Aid 25 Mobile Ventilation Unit 1 (MVU1)

Power/CO2 Unit 25


Battalion Chief 2
26 South Park 800 S Cloverdale St. Engine 26 Medic 26 Air Unit 260 (AIR260)

Mobile Air Compressor 260

27 Georgetown 1000 S Myrtle St. Engine 27 Decontamination Unit 1 (DECON1)

Rehabilitation Unit 1 (REHAB1)

28 Rainier Valley 5968 Rainier Ave. S Engine 28 Ladder 12 Medic 28

Metropolitan Medical Strike Team

29 Admiral District 2139 Ferry Ave. SW Engine 29
30 Mount Baker 2931 S Mount Baker Blvd Engine 30 Mass Casualty Incident Unit 2 (MCI2)
31 Northgate 10503 Interlake Avenue North (Temporary Station - Interim location until new station is complete) Engine 31 Ladder 5 Medic 31 Aid 31
32 West Seattle 3715 SW Alaska St. Engine 32 Ladder 11 Medic 32 Battalion Chief 7
33 Rainier Beach 9645 Renton Ave. S Engine 33
34 Madison Park 633 32nd Ave. E Engine 34
35 Crown Hill 8729 15th Ave. NW Engine 35 Air 240
36 Harbor Island 3600 23rd Ave. SW Engine 36 Marine Unit 1 (MRN1)

Marine Unit 80 (Reserve Marine Unit)

37 High Point 7700 35th Ave. SW Engine 37 Ladder 13 Battalion Chief 77 (Reserve Battalion Chief)
38 Laurelhurst 4004 NE 55th St. Engine 38

Engine 85 (Reserve Engine)

Aid 86 (Reserve Aid Unit) Squad & Wildland Unit 40
39 Lake City 2806 NE 127th St. Engine 39 Medical Ambulance Bus 1 (MAB1)
40 Wedgwood 9401 35th Ave. NE Engine 40 Engine 84 (Reserve Engine)
41 Magnolia 2416 34th Ave. W Engine 41
HMC Harborview Medical Center 325 9th Ave. Medic 1

Medic 10

Medic 80 (Reserve Medic Unit)

Medic 5 (Reserve Medic Unit) Medic 44 & Medic 45 (EMS Supervisors)

Battalion Chief 3 (EMS Battalion Chief)

HQ Headquarters 301 2nd Ave. S Health Unit 1 (H1) Public Information Officer (PIO)


Fire Marshall 5 (MARS5)


Staff & Incident Command System (ICS) Support Unit 10

Deputy Chief 1 (DEP1)


Safety Chief 2 (SAFT2)

Apparatus types and callsigns edit

  • 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)
  • EMS/Paramedic Supervisor (M44 / M45)
  • Fire Boat (FB1, FB2, FB3, FB4)
  • Fire Chief (234)
  • Assistant Chief of Operations (89)
  • Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) / Fire Marshall (MAR5)
  • Fire Rescue Boat (RB5)
  • Hazardous Materials Unit (HAZ1)
  • Hose / Foam Wagon (HOSE18 / HOSE34)
  • Marine Unit (MRN1)
  • Medic - Advanced life support (M)
  • Medical Ambulance Bus (MAB1)
  • Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST)
  • Mobile Air Compressor (AIR240 / AIR260 / AIR10)
  • Mobile Ventilation Unit (MVU1)
  • Mass Casualty Incident Unit (MCI1 / MCI2)
  • Power/CO2 Unit (P25)
  • Public Information Officer (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, M5)
  • 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 (R1)
  • Rehabilitation (REHAB1)

Notable incidents edit

Great Seattle Fire edit

On June 6, 1889, the Great Seattle Fire broke out in a cabinet shop located at the corner of 1st Avenue and Madison Street.[5] 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.[5]

Pang warehouse fire edit

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.[7]

In popular culture edit

The House on the Hill (1985)
  • 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 edit

  1. ^ "Emergency Response Totals". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Department Profile". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Fire Stations - Fire". seattle.gov. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  4. ^ "Apparatus Showcase". Seattle Fire Department. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Stein, Alan (September 2, 2002). "Seattle Fire Department is created on October 17, 1889". HistoryLink. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "Stations". Seattle Fire Department. Archived from the original on June 2, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  7. ^ Castro, Hector (January 4, 2005). "10 years ago, four perished in Pang warehouse blaze". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

External links edit

47°36′00″N 122°19′55″W / 47.60000°N 122.33194°W / 47.60000; -122.33194