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Seattle Fire Cuts Could Leave Some Neighborhoods Waiting Longer for Help
Mayor Katie Wilson's proposed $7 million cut to firefighter overtime has sparked a budget fight with City Council President Dan Strauss, who warns that single-unit firehouses in peripheral neighborhoods could see slower emergency response times.
Seattle's proposed budget cuts to the fire department are raising concerns about emergency response times, particularly in neighborhoods served by single-unit firehouses. Mayor Katie Wilson's budget includes a $7 million reduction in firefighter overtime as part of an effort to shrink spending and move away from budget maneuvers used by previous administrations to achieve a legally required balanced budget.
City Council President Dan Strauss has released a counterproposal that would reverse most of Wilson's cuts, including restoring and increasing firefighter overtime funding. Strauss argues that the city should not abruptly end its reliance on one-time funding and reserves, warning that "trying to correct for that in a single budget cycle can be dangerous."
The debate comes as the fire department already furloughs units when staffing is insufficient, meaning residents cannot know on any given day whether their closest first responders are on duty or whether their call will be routed to a firehouse farther away. According to Strauss, small firehouses with only a single response vehicle are more likely to be furloughed when sick days and vacation days are distributed across the system, and overtime cuts would compound that staffing thinness.
"There are some fire stations that would have a higher impact than others," Strauss said. He noted that city agencies have provided averages and examples of how overtime cuts could affect response times, but have not conducted a deep analysis of neighborhood-level impacts. "They've given us averages and they've given us examples, but it is unclear which apparatus or engines would have additional response times because it is dependent on who has vacation, who has called out sick, and in some cases, who wants to work overtime," he said.
The stakes were illustrated in September when a 57-year-old man collapsed in Discovery Park in Magnolia. Two doctors happened to be nearby and began CPR within seconds while a friend called 911. Engine 41, the single-unit fire engine operating out of Magnolia, responded within four minutes. An ambulance from a Ballard fire station arrived about five minutes later, and the man was ultimately taken to the hospital alive but with life-threatening injuries, according to fire department spokesman David Cuerpo.
The budget negotiations will determine funding for firefighter overtime as well as gender-based violence programs and numerous council pet projects. The City Council has held multiple public comment sessions and will hear departmental presentations over the next two weeks on public safety, libraries, housing, arts, civil rights, tribal issues, land use, parks, transportation, and homelessness. Public comment is currently open only by email according to the council calendar.