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Fire Line

News and events from the Seattle Fire Department

Plan a Safe Fourth of July

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With Fourth of July around the corner, the Seattle Fire Department would like to remind the public that there are no legal fireworks in the City of Seattle. Fireworks present a safety risk to those who use them and a fire hazard to property. Every year, the Seattle Fire Department responds to fireworks-related fires and injuries, and each and every one of these incidents could be avoided.

Seattle Statistics:

• Between January 2000 and July 2008, the Seattle Fire Department responded to 137 fireworks related fires.

• The estimated cost of damages for fireworks related fires between January 2000 and July 2008 amounted to nearly one million dollars.

• In 2005, at least 15 Seattle residents were treated at hospitals due to fireworks-related injuries.

• The City Council’s 1993 decision to ban fireworks has dramatically reduced the number of fires and injuries caused by fireworks.

Any fireworks related fires or injuries should be reported directly to 911, however, on July 4, 911 centers become overloaded with non-emergency fireworks calls. Do not call 911 unless you have a life-threatening emergency and need help from police, fire or medics. Unnecessary 911 calls block people with real emergencies from reaching 911 to get help. Fireworks violations can be reported to the Seattle Police non-emergency number at (206) 625-5011.

Students from Columbia Basin Job Corps Stop by to Say Thanks

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Students and faculty from the Columbia Basin Job Corps stopped by Fire Station 25 today to say thank you to Seattle Firefighters and Police Officers who responded when their bus crashed last December. Eighty students from the Job Corps were aboard two buses that slid down an icy street and crashed through a guardrail above I-5 on December 19, 2008. The accident happened at the intersection of Thomas and Melrose Streets on Capitol Hill. Firefighters from Engine 25 were among the first to arrive on the scene. Seattle Fire Department crews evaluated the medical condition of all of the students and took eleven of them to Harborview Medical Center with minor injuries.

The group made a trip across the state from Moses Lake to visit with rescuers today. The students presented plaques with a photo of the students and signatures of those who were on board, along with a photo of the crash.

Students presented plaques to Firefighters and Police Officers.

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No Injuries at Fire in University District Copy Shop

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At 11:05 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, more than 30 Seattle firefighters responded to a report of fire at 4200 University Way Northeast. When the first unit arrived on the scene they found heavy flames inside a copy shop located on the first floor of a three story apartment building. Firefighters quickly attacked the fire, and through their efforts, the flames were knocked down in approximately ten minutes.

Crews evacuated residents from apartments above the copy shop and got everyone out of the building with no injuries. Quick work by firefighters prevented the fire from spreading beyond the copy shop.

Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental, caused by an overheated electrical cord. Damage was estimated at $600,000, including $200,000 in damages to the structure and $400,000 to the contents of the copy shop.

Engine 27 Teaches Kids about Fire Safety

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Firefighters from Station 27 participated in Fire Department Kid’s Day on Saturday at the Museum of Flight. Fire Department Kid’s Day is an annual event drawing fire engines and trucks from fire departments throughout King County. More than 600 children and adults attended this year’s event. Firefighters from Fire Station 27 showed off Engine 27, displayed and explained their firefighting gear, handed out educational materials and played fire safety and injury prevention games with the kids.

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Seattle Firefighters & Paramedics to Reward Kids for Wearing Helmets

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This summer, several Seattle Fire Stations and the Seattle Fire Department Bike Medics will be issuing Bicycle Safety Citations to children who are properly wearing their helmet while bicycling, skateboarding or inline skating. Each citation entitles the child to a free child-size sandwich at participating Subway locations. The goal of the program is to reduce the incidence of childhood head injuries.

 

According to the National SAFE Kids Coalition, head injury is the leading cause of death in bicycle crashes and is the most important determinant of bicycle-related death and permanent disability. Head injuries account for more than 60 percent of bicycle-related deaths, more than two-thirds of bicycle-related hospital admissions and about one-third of hospital emergency room visits for bicycling injuries. The single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes is a helmet.

 

A Seattle Firefighter talks to kids about helmet safety.

A Seattle Firefighter talks to kids about helmet safety.

Rescue Drill Simulates Freeway and Building Collapses

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When an earthquake causes a freeway to collapse or a terrorist bombing knocks down a building, rescuing trapped victims will take more than the efforts of first responders. On Tuesday June 9, the Seattle Fire Department hosted a drill that focused on integrating public and private resources during the rescue phase of a catastrophic disaster. Firefighters from King, Snohomish and Pierce County along with construction workers, iron workers and crane operators participated in the hands-on rescue training.

Using specially built collapse props, the training simulated the kinds of real life conditions workers will encounter in an actual disaster. One prop was set up as if an earthquake caused a freeway to collapse and the other prop simulated a building collapse caused by a terrorist bombing. Cranes and other heavy equipment were used to lift cement slabs and vehicles and sift through rubble for possible victims. Other skills that practiced include concrete breaching and breaking, burning and cutting steel and rigging.

A rubble pile prop simulated a freeway collapse caused by an earthquake.

A rubble pile prop simulated a freeway collapse caused by an earthquake.

Firefighters and crane operators worked together to remove this vehicle froma rubble pile during the exercise.

Firefighters and crane operators worked together to remove this vehicle from a rubble pile during the exercise.

Firefighters and crane operators removed debris is removed from a collapsed building prop during the exercise.

Firefighters and crane operators removed debris from a collapsed building prop during the exercise.

Firefighters Rescue Man Trapped in Hole

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Firefighters used multiple tools to stabalize the cement around the patient.

Firefighters used multiple tools to stabilize the cement around the patient.

At 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 21, firefighters responded to a report that a man had fallen and may have been injured next to the Washington Street Public Boat Landing at the intersection of South Washington Street and Alaskan Way South. When firefighters arrived they found a 60-year old male who fell approximately 10 feet into a hole after a section of cement collapsed underneath him. Firefighters reported that the fill dirt around the patient and large sections of remaining overhead concrete were both unstable. A Heavy Rescue response was requested, which includes Seattle Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team.

The patient told firefighters that he was not hurt.  Firefighters worked in a coordinated effort to stabilize the soil and the concrete using ladders, wood, separators, air bags and rope. They drilled a bolt into one piece of unstable concrete and tied it to a nearby pole so that if the slab of cement were to break it would not fall down on the patient.  When the hole was stabilized, two firefighters entered the hole and cut off the patient’s backpack and shirt sleeve which were pinned down by a large slab of cement.

Once the patient was free, he was put in a rescue harness. The aerial ladder on a ladder truck was extended over the sidewalk and used to raise the patient out of the hole. The man was complaining of minor back pain and was transported to Harborview Medical Center for further evaluation.

The patient was extricated using an aerial ladder attached to a rescue harness.

The patient was extricated using an aerial ladder attached to a rescue harness.

Seattle Fire Department Names First Female Assistant Chief

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Susan P. Rosenthal, a 29-year veteran of the Seattle Fire Department was promoted to Assistant Chief in early May, making her the highest ranking woman in the Department’s history.

In her new position, Rosenthal serves as the Assistant Chief of Administration, overseeing the Fire Alarm Center, Human Resources, Finance, Services, and Information Technology.
 
Since August, 2003, Rosenthal worked as the Deputy Chief of Communications at the Department’s Fire Alarm Center where she managed a staff of firefighter/dispatchers who answer over 100,00 emergency calls per year. Prior to that, Rosenthal served as one of the Department’s Safety Officers and as an Operations Division Battalion Chief.
 
Rosenthal was among the first group of women to serve as firefighters for the City of Seattle when she joined the Department in 1980. During her career,  Rosenthal rose through the ranks of Firefighter, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief and Deputy Chief.

Rosenthal is a member of the City’s Race and Social Justice Change Team. She has volunteered as a Safety Chief at Camp Blaze, a national leadership camp for young women who want to experience a career in the fire service.

Chief Susan P. Rosenthal with Mayor Nickels

Assistant Chief Rosenthal with Mayor Nickels

 
Assistant Chief Rosenthal poses with a group of women in the Seattle Fire Department.

Assistant Chief Rosenthal celebrates with other women in the Seattle Fire Department

Ground Broken for New Fire Station 37

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Mayor Nickels, Fire Chief Gregory Dean, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and others break ground.

Mayor Nickels, Fire Chief Gregory Dean, Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and others break ground.

On Tuesday, May 12, Mayor Nickels, Fire Chief Gregory Dean, firefighters assigned to Engine 37 and West Seattle neighbors gathered to break ground on the site of the new Fire Station 37. The new station, will be located on the southeast corner of 35th Avenue SW and SW Holden Street and is just a few blocks down from where the current station sits. Engine 37 will respond to emergencies from the current station until construction is complete on the new station, which is estimated to take about a year.

The new Fire Station 37 will be seismically reinforced and will expand from 4,000 square feet to more than 9,000 square feet. More room at the station is important for several reasons. First, it gives firefighters room to safely decontaminate their gear from the toxic materials they are exposed to when responding to fire and medical emergencies. Second, it means the station will be large enough to accommodate modern firefighting equipment. The current Station 37 was built in 1925, when fire engines were smaller and now, when the Engine 37 backs into the station, there are a only a few inches of clearance on either side.

The new station is part of the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy. More information on this project and other fire station projects going on around the City is available on the Fire Facilities Webpage.

An artists rendering of the new Fire Station 37.

An artist's rendering of the new Fire Station 37.