# 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 km$^2$), 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.

## History

The Seattle Fire Department started as a volunteer fire department that was taken over by the City of Seattle on April 11, 1884. 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. As a result, the Seattle Fire Department was officially established on October 17, 1889, as a paid professional department.
The Seattle Fire Department is contracted with American Medical Response for basic life support transport.

## Fire stations and apparatus

As of April 2021 the department operates out of 34 fire stations spread across the city.
| 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) | Mobile Integrated Health Unit 2 (H2) | |
| 3 | Fishermen's Terminal | 1735 W Thurman St. | | | | Fireboat 1 Fireboat Chief Seattle (FB3) | |
| 5 | Waterfront | 925 Alaskan Way | Engine 5 | | | Engine 4 transport unit Fireboat Leschi (FB4) Fireboat 2 Rescue Boat 5 | |
| 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 (AIR10) | Staff & Incident Command System (ICS) Support Unit 10 (STAF10) |
| 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 |
| 14 | SoDo | 3224 4th Ave. S | Rescue 1 | | Aid 14 | Squad 14 |
| 16 | Greenlake | 6846 Oswego Pl. NE | Engine 16 | | | | |
| 17 | University District | 1050 NE 50th St. | Engine 17 | Ladder 9 | Medic 17 | | Battalion Chief 6 |
| 18 | Ballard | 1521 NW Market St. | Engine 18 | Ladder 8 | Medic 18 | Hose & Foam Unit 18 (HOSE18) | Battalion Chief 4 |
| 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 | | Aid 86 (Reserve Medic/Aid Unit) | Comm 1 (COM1) | |
| 24 | Bitter Lake | 401 N 130th St. | Engine 24 | | | Air Unit 240 (AIR240) | |
| 25 | Capitol Hill | 1300 E Pine St. | Engine 25 | Ladder 10 | Aid 25 | Mobile Ventilation Unit 1 (MVU1) Energy Response Unit 1 (ENERGY1) Power/CO$_2$ Unit 25 (P25) | Battalion Chief 2 |
| 26 | South Park | 800 S Cloverdale St. | Engine 26 | | Medic 26 | Mobile Air Compressor 260 (AIR260) | |
| 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 (Staffed Part Time) | |
| 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 | | | Hose & Foam Unit 34 (HOSE34) | |
| 35 | Crown Hill | 8729 15th Ave. NW | Engine 35 | | | |
| 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 | | | |
| 38 | Laurelhurst | 4004 NE 55th St. | Engine 38 Engine 85 (Reserve Engine) | | | Squad & Wildland Unit 40 (S40) | |
| 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 | | | | Public Information Officer (PIO) Fire Marshal 5 (MAR5) | Deputy Chief 1 (DEP1) Safety Chief 2 (SAFT2) Mobile Integrated Health Unit 1 (H1) Mobile Integrated Health Unit 99 (H99) |

## Apparatus types and callsigns

* Engine (E)
* Ladder (L)
* Aid Unit "Aid Car" - Basic Life Support (A)
* Air / Mobile Air Compressor Unit (AIR)
* Battalion Chief (B)
* Chaplain Unit (CHAP)
* Command, Control & Communication Unit (COM)
* Decontamination Unit (DECON)
* Deputy Chief of Operations (DEP)
* EMS/Paramedic Supervisor (M44 / M45)
* Fire Boat (FB)
* Rescue Boat (RB)
* Fire Chief (234)
* Assistant Chief of Operations (89)
* Fire Investigation Unit (FIU) / Fire Marshal (MAR)
* Hazardous Materials Unit (HAZ)
* Hose / Foam Wagon (HOSE)
* Marine Unit (MRN)
* Medic - Advanced Life Support (M)
* Medical Ambulance Bus (MAB)
* Metropolitan Medical Strike Team (MMST)
* Mobile Ventilation Unit (MVU)
* Mass Casualty Incident Unit (MCI)
* Power/CO$_2$ Unit (P)
* Public Information Officer (PIO)
* Reserve Aid - BLS Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (A8_)
* Reserve Battalion Chiefs (B2_)
* Reserve Engine Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (E8_)
* Reserve Ladder Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (L8_)
* Reserve Medic - ALS Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (M8_)
* Reserve Heavy Rescue Apparatus (All "80 Series" Designations) (R8_)
* Seattle Police Harbor Patrol Boat (Responds with Seattle Fire Department for most marine incidents) (PTRL)
* Squad & Wildland Unit (S)
* Staff & Incident Command System (ICS) Support Unit (STAF)
* Safety Chief (SAFT)
* Heavy Rescue Unit (R)
* Rehabilitation (REHAB)

## 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. 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.

### 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.

## 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, a spin-off 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.

## Gallery

* Seattle Volunteer Fire Company Engine Number 1 in 1883 at the engine house on Columbia Street in a Theodore Peiser photograph
* 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
* Seattle Fire Department Engine 10
* Seattle Fire Department Health One