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, including of waterfront, with a population of 713,700.
History
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. On June 6, 1889 the Great Seattle Fire broke out and destroyed over 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.Fire stations/apparatus
the department operates out of 34 fire stations spread across the city.| 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 |
| 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, 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, |
| 25 | Capitol Hill | 1300 E Pine St. | E25, L10, A25, MVU1, P25, VAULT1, B2, B22 |
| 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, AIR240 |
| 36 | Harbor Island | 3600 23rd Ave. SW | E36, MARINE1, MARINE80 |
| 37 | High Point | 7700 35th Ave. SW | E37, L13,B77 |
| 38 | Laurelhurst | 4004 NE 55th St. | E38, E85, A86 SQ40 |
| 39 | Lake City | 2806 NE 127th St. | E39, L5, 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, M80, B3 |
| HQ | Headquarters | 310 2nd Ave. S | DEP1, PIO, DEP11, SAFT2, MAR5, MAR55, MAR1, HEALTH1, STAFF 10 |
Apparatus glossary/callsigns
- Engine
- Ladder
- Aid - Basic Life Support
- Air Unit
- Battalion Chief
- Chaplain units
- Command, Control & Communication Unit
- Decontamination Unit
- Deputy Chiefs
- EMS/Paramedic Supervisor
- Fire Boat
- Fire Chief
- Assistant Chief of Operations
- Fire Investigation Unit / Fire Marshall
- Fire Rescue Boat
- Hazardous Materials Unit
- Hose / Foam Wagon
- Marine Unit
- Medic - Advanced life support
- Medical Ambulance Bus
- Metropolitan Medical Strike Team
- Mobile Air Compressor
- Mobile Ventilation Unit
- Mass Casualty Incident Unit
- Power/CO2 Unit
- Public Information Officer Unit
- Reserve Aid - BLS Apparatus
- Reserve Battalion Chiefs
- Reserve Engine Apparatus
- Reserve Ladder Apparatus
- Reserve Medic - ALS Apparatus
- Reserve Heavy Rescue Apparatus
- Seattle Police Harbor Patrol Boat
- Squad & Wildland Unit
- Staff & Incident Command System Support Unit
- Safety Chief
- Technical Rescue Unit
- Rehabilitation
- Urban Search & Rescue Unit
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, 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, 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.