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News and events from the Seattle Fire Department

Smoking and rooftop fires

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Make sure proper cigarette disposal canisters are available in areas where smoking is allowed

Over the weekend, the Seattle Fire Department responded to two residential home fires that started on rooftops. In both situations, fire investigators identified improperly discarded smoking materials as the probable source of ignition. Every summer, we respond to fires that are caused by smoking materials left unattended or discarded improperly. With the warm and dry weather, more such fires may likely occur.

Even though smoking is not allowed on multi-residential building rooftops, fire Investigators frequently find cigarette butts in planter boxes and in garbage cans. It is important to never discard cigarettes in vegetation such as mulch, potted plants or landscaping, peat moss, dried grasses, leaves or other things that could ignite easily. A small cigarette butt in dry conditions can turn into a major fire.

Steps to help reduce the chance of such fires include the following:

  • Carelessly discarded cigarettes and other smoking materials can easily start a fire in dry conditions. Extinguish smoking materials before you leave area
  • Douse smoking materials in water before tossing out
  • Make sure proper cigarette disposal canisters are available in areas where smoking is allowed
Discard smoking materials in designated canisters only

National Pet Fire Safety Day

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July 15th is National Pet Fire Safety Day. Don’t forget to include your furry family members into your emergency plan should a fire occur. According to American Humane, more than half a million pets are impacted by house fires every year. Sometimes, the house fires are started by the pets themselves. Take a few minutes to prepare your home to prevent fires and to ensure your pets can get out safely if fire happens.

Photo of Bailey, the cavalier pup seated on Rescue One's apparatus.

Tips to Keep Pets Safe from House Fires:

  • Extinguish Open Flames – Pets are generally curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, or even a fire in your fireplace. Ensure your pet is not left unattended around an open flame and make sure to thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your home.
  • Secure Young Pets – Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home.
  • Keep Pets Near Entrances – When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.
  • Practicing Escape Routes with Pets – Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case you have to evacuate quickly with your pet or firefighters need to rescue your pet.
  • Invest in flameless candles: These candles contain a light bulb rather than an open flame and take the danger out of your pet knocking over a candle.
  • Avoid glass water bowls on wooden decks: The sun’s rays, when filtered through glass water bowls, can heat up and ignite the wooden deck. Choose stainless steel or ceramic bowls instead. 
  • Keep pets near entrances when you’re out: Keep collars and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue your dog. When leaving pets home alone, please keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them. 

Dry brush fires in Seattle

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Firefighters putting out a brush fire

The long stretch of warm, dry summer days is keeping firefighters busy with dry-weather related fires. Since July 1, the Seattle Fire Department has responded to 65 brush and bark-related fires.

Due the the dry conditions, the King County Fire Marshal issued a fire safety burn ban on June 24, 2021 on all outdoor burning except for barbecues and small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved campgrounds or private property with the owner’s permission. The Seattle Fire Department strongly encourages community members to avoid outdoor burning and to take extra precautions with smoking materials during this time.

How to prevent brush and other dry weather-related fires around your home:

  • Remove dead plants or bushes as soon as possible and clear roof and gutters of pine needles and leaves.
  • Remove flammable wood piles, propane tanks away from homes and garage structures.
  • Remove long grass, weeds or anything that can burn from around homes. This includes limbs that touch buildings or hang near the roof.
  • For homes adjacent to large areas of greenbelt, consider defensible space between home and landscaping
  • Homes built on slopes should mitigate dead dry vegetation below and around structure.
  • Either keep lawn hydrated or cut it short if it’s brown.

Outside of the home:

  • Do not light fireworks – besides being illegal, they cause serious injuries and fires.
  • Dispose of smoking materials in proper receptacles and douse in water, not in planters, beauty bark or out of your vehicle window.  
  • Be sure chains and other metal parts are not dragging from your vehicle as they can throw sparks. Check your tire pressure – driving on an exposed wheel rim can cause sparks.
  • Be careful driving through or parking on dry grass as hot exhaust pipes can lead to fires.

If you experience a fire, please call 9-1-1 immediately after you are in a safe location away from the fire.

2-Alarm vacant building fire in the U-District

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Photo by John Odegard

SEATTLE — At 10:19 a.m., firefighters responded to a working fire in a vacant building at the 5200 block of University Way NE. When crews arrived on scene, they confirmed that an adult male and adult female were able to safely evacuate the building. Our crews were able to get water on the fire and begin a primary search within four minutes of arriving on scene. However, the primary search was aborted when the roof began to collapse.

Photo by John Odegard
Photo by John Odegard

The incident was upgraded to a 2-alarm as flames and heavy smoke billowed out from the collapsed roof. 93 fire personnel were dispatched to the scene consisting of eleven fire engines, five ladder trucks and additional support units. Firefighters remained in a defensive strategy where they poured water onto the fire from a safe distance. They had the fire under control by 11:02 a.m. and continued to extinguish hot spots into the early afternoon.

The incident is currently under investigation and no injuries were reported.

Preventing fires caused by fireworks

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Photo Credit: West Seattle Herald

Every year, the personal use of fireworks cause fires and injure people in the Seattle area. Last year, the Seattle Fire Department responded to 16 fireworks-related fires including two structure fires. One significant fire happened on July 4, 2020 in West Seattle where fireworks ignited dry brush in front of a four-story apartment building which then quickly extended to the top floor balcony. Fortunately, no one was injured, but several residents were displaced and the total estimated loss was $100,000.

The recent hot, dry weather significantly increases the risk for dry grass, bark, and brush fires. A firework can easily start a fire in these conditions.

Here are ways to reduce fires caused by fireworks near your home:

  • Remove branches, dry grass and anything that can burn from around your home.
  • Make sure tree branches are not touching your home.
  • Clear roof and gutters of pine needles and leaves.
  • Don’t leave cardboard or loose paper recyclables outside – make sure they are in a closed bin.
  • Keep a garden hose with nozzle hooked up and ready to use.

Also, make sure smoke alarms are working by pushing the test button.

If you experience a fire, please call 9-1-1 immediately after you are in a safe location away from the fire.

Remember, fireworks are illegal in the City of Seattle. If you want to report the illegal discharge of fireworks, please do not call 9-1-1, but instead use the non-emergency line for the Community Safety and Coordination Center (206-625-5011). On a historically busy weekend in the City, the use of 9-1-1 should be reserved for life-threatening emergencies only.

Seattle Fire’s 2020 Annual Report

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We are pleased to share the Seattle Fire Department’s annual report for 2020. Please take a few moments to scroll through and share with your friends and neighbors.

Looking back upon one of the most challenging years in our lifetimes, Seattle Fire:

• Responded to 80,316 incidents. Of those, approximately 22 percent were for fires and 77 percent for EMS.
• Processed more than 165,000 calls at the Fire Alarm Center
• Investigated the origin and cause of 510 fires
• Held two recruit academies and welcomed 58 new firefighters
• Marked the 50th anniversary of the Medic One program
• Recorded 157,000 hours of training
• Went virtual for communications, training and significant portions of our administrative work
• Collaborated with nonprofits and public sector agencies on many initiatives to address the COVID-19 pandemic

Although the year was not what we expected when it began, together, we accomplished so much more than we could have believed possible. If anything, 2020 showed us the meaning of resilience and community.

This report takes many hands to prepare, and we would like to acknowledge and thank the photographers who allowed us to include their work: John Odegard, Bob Lukas, Dave Peery and FireDog Photos.

Thank you for your support for the Seattle Fire Department.

Two fatalities at 25th Ave. S. homeless encampment fire

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SEATTLE – Firefighters were called to the 3000 block of 25th Ave. S. on June 14 just after 3 a.m. for a fire at a homeless encampment. When crews arrived on scene, they saw flames 50-feet high coming from an encampment structure made of pallets and tarps that was fully engulfed in flames. The fire also consumed nearby brush and trees.

Crews were able to quickly put water on the fire, and searched nearby encampments that were in close proximity to ensure no occupants suffered from smoke exposure. Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters were able to search the burned down encampment and found two adults deceased inside the pallet structure (one female, one male). The King County Medical Examiner’s Office was called to the scene later in the morning, and the fire department assisted them in their efforts to remove the deceased individuals.

Fire investigators have ruled the cause of the fire as “undetermined”, pending the results of the autopsy. The Seattle Police Department’s Arson and Bomb Squad investigators also responded to the scene, per policy for fire fatalities.

Fires that occur at encampments can spread rapidly due to the type of material involved and close proximity to brush. Additionally, fires present a significant danger to encampment occupants, as there are not standard fire safety systems in place (such as smoke alarms) to alert occupants of an active fire.

2-Alarm fire near the Seattle Center

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Photo by John Odegard

SEATTLE — Just before 4 p.m. on June 8, our Fire Alarm Center received multiple calls reporting heavy smoke coming from a vacant building on the 500 block of Harrison St. When crews arrived on scene, bystanders informed them there might be a person still inside on the 2nd floor of the building on fire. Firefighters acted quickly to attack the fire and search the building, but as they made entry they encountered high heat, heavy smoke and unstable floors. Due to the deteriorating conditions, crews were forced to retreat back outside to a defensive position. They utilized thermal imaging cameras to peer through the smoke billowing from the windows and were unable to locate a person in the building.

By 4:23 p.m., the response was upgraded to a 2-alarm fire in which 10 fire engines, 5 ladder trucks and additional support units were dispatched. In total, 94 fire personnel responded. Crews spent hours pouring water on the fire while Puget Sound Energy secured natural gas and Seattle City Light shut off electricity to the building.

The incident commander began demobilizing units around 7 p.m., but as of 9 p.m., two fire engines and a ladder truck remain on scene to extinguish flare ups.

The incident is currently under investigation and no injuries were reported at this time.

6/9 UPDATE: Fire investigators ruled the incident as undetermined because they are unable to safely enter the building due to concerns of structural collapse.

National Water Safety Month Tips

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Even when the outside temperatures are high, water temperatures in the Seattle area can be cold enough to overwhelm even the strongest swimmer. Sadly, the Seattle Fire Department responds to preventable drownings every year. According to Public Health – Seattle & King County, 33 people died in preventable drownings last year. Many more near drownings go unreported.

If you plan to be in or near water this summer, follow these recommendations:

Learn to swim, including water safety and survival skills — To enjoy the water safely, learn swim strokes, water safety, survival skills, and becoming comfortable in the water.

Wear a life jacket — Always wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life jacket when boating, tubing, rafting, swimming or other activities in or on lakes, rivers, salt water, or pools without a lifeguard. Life jacket information for children and teens.

Swim where there is a lifeguard — Swim in areas with lifeguards when possible. Wear a life jacket while swimming in unguarded waters or until the guards start their service.

Supervise children in or near water — Always provide close and constant attention to children you are supervising in or near water. Stay within touching distance of young children at all times.

Do not use alcohol or drugs during water activities — Never use alcohol or other impairing drugs during water and boating activities or while supervising children around the water. Alcohol affects balance, coordination, and judgement. Exposure to sun and heat worsen these effects.

Learn first aid and CPR — Learn first aid and CPR. Seconds count—the more quickly lifesaving CPR is started, the better the chances of recovery. Dial 911 in an emergency.

Water Safety – King County

Drowning Prevention – CDC

Life jacket discount information

Drowning Prevention and Water Safety – Seattle Children’s

En español: Prevención de ahogamiento

Fire Day 2021 – Coming to You Live from the Seattle Fire Boat!

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Annual Partnership Event with MOHAI Stays Virtual for Second Year

Join us on Saturday, June 5, 2021, when, for the first time ever, we’ll be livestreaming from onboard the Seattle fire boat, Leschi!

Fire Day Flyer – EnglishDownload
Fire Day Flyer – SpanishDownload
A freshly re-painted Leschi will be underway for Fire Day on June 5, 2021. Photo credit: Bob Lukas

Tune into the SFD Facebook page from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. as we highlight the many different jobs Seattle firefighters hold and the special training needed to become a Deckhand, Engineer, Pilot or Fire Boat Captain, as well as what it takes to become a Rescue Swimmer, a Seattle Medic and more.

This year’s virtual event marks two noteworthy developments in Seattle’s history – the 132nd anniversary of the Great Seattle Fire and the 50th anniversary of Seattle Medic One.

Why it matters: While the 1889 fire destroyed Seattle’s central downtown, it also led to the professional firefighting force we see today. In 1971, Seattle Fire was one of the first departments in the nation to expand its emergency medical services to include specially trained paramedics, capable of performing advanced life support services in the field.

Building on these advancements is sure to draw the interest of those currently pursuing a firefighting career as well as young firefighters-to-be, the traditional audience of our partnership with the Seattle Museum of History & Industry.

Tune in for these exciting highlights:

For parents and children:

  • Hear Fire Chief Harold Scoggins’ rousing rendition of the classic children’s fire safety story, “No Dragons for Tea.”
  • Discover what Mikey learns about making the right choice during Spanish Story Time, “Mikey Hace un Desorden” (Mikey Makes a Mess.)
  • Travel back in time and see the tools firefighters used more than a century ago.
  • Tap your inner artist to make a fire dog puppet and fold a paper fire engine.
Fire Engine and Fire Dog Craft InstructionsDownload

For fire boat fans and those pursuing a fire service career:

  • Walk the virtual decks of the fire boat as Firefighter Lance Garland points out gear and equipment used to fight maritime fires.
  • Dive into Puget Sound (virtually!) as Rescue Swimmers mobilize at a moment’s notice when the call goes out for someone needing help on the water.
  • Go ashore with Seattle Medics as they assess a water rescue patient.

And the grand finale for all:

  • Watch and marvel at the Fire Boat Leschi as it demonstrates its full firefighting capabilities from the marine environment. Surely a display not to be missed!

We hope you can join us!