Seattle Responder - June 2021 Edition

City of Seattle, Washington sent this bulletin at 06/04/2021 05:07 PM PDT

Message from the Fire Chief

In late May, I joined the Mayor and other City leaders to announce that our Seattle Fire-operated vaccination hubs in West Seattle and Rainier Beach will cease operations on June 9 and June 23, respectively. This news comes with knowing that 76 percent of Seattle’s residents 12 and older have begun the vaccination process, and more than 60 percent are fully vaccinated. With the planned closure of our two vaccination hubs, we have added vaccine administration capacity to our SODO community testing site (up to 700 vaccines per day, without an appointment) and will also continue to deploy our mobile vaccination teams in the community. The City of Seattle’s vaccination sites at Lumen Field Event Center and North Seattle College will also end their operations in June.

Over the course of the pandemic, the work of the Seattle Fire Department has evolved tremendously. From standing up a COVID-19 testing site for first responders, to conducting more than 762,000 COVID-19 tests at our four community testing sites, to administering more than 140,700 vaccinations, our work has pivoted to best serve you. I am proud of the hard work of our firefighters, paramedics and professional staff who work for the SFD and our partners at AMR, UW Medicine and Swedish - all have worked tirelessly for a healthier Seattle. And I am incredibly thankful to everyone in our community for remaining resilient during this pandemic and getting us to a point where we feel hopeful about ramping down our efforts now that a vast majority of our population is vaccinated.

As we head into the summer months, I want to remind the public about the risk of brush fires and how you can take simple steps to help prevent fires from occurring. This includes properly disposing of smoking materials, ensuring no chains are dangling from your vehicle (that could spark) and removing combustible materials from around your house. Additionally, with the warm weather ahead, it’s also important that you always wear a life jacket when swimming in open water.

Finally, please join us for Seattle Fire Day on June 5! This will be our second year as a virtual event. Join us on Facebook from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. as we feature fire safety messages, crafts you can do from home as well as a special tour of the Fireboat Leschi. Our thanks to MOHAI, our partner for this annual event.

Stay safe and healthy,

Harold D. Scoggins, Fire Chief

Significant Incidents Recap

May 1: Firefighters responded to a natural gas leak near Republican St. and Westlake Ave. N., which led to the temporary evacuation of several adjacent buildings. PSE was able to secure the gas line, and no injuries were reported.

May 11: Crews extinguished a fire in a residence at the 300 block of W. Roy St. Unfortunately, they found a deceased adult male within the fire room. Fire investigators ruled the incident as undetermined, with an estimated loss of $15,000.

May 9: Crews quickly knocked down a residential fire at the 2400 block of NW 57th St. One elderly male was transported to a hospital in stable condition. Fire investigators ruled the incident as undetermined, and the estimated loss is $153,000.

May 14: As callers reported a residential fire at the 4400 block of 44th Ave. SW., an off-duty Seattle firefighter saw smoke from the building. He searched the home and found an elderly female inside the fire room. He aided the responding firefighters in locating the woman to quickly rescue her from the fire. Paramedics transported her to a hospital in critical condition.

Seattle Fire around the community

Join us online for Fire Day with MOHAI

Join us on Saturday, June 5 at 10:30 a.m. where we will be live streaming from aboard the Seattle fire boat, Leschi! Tune into our Facebook Page from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

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).
Tap your inner artist to make a fire dog puppet and fold a paper fire engine.
Travel back in time and see the tools firefighters used more than a century ago.

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!

Seattle Fire hosts pop-up vaccination clinics across the City; Rainier Beach and West Seattle hub closing in June

With 76 percent of Seattle’s eligible residents (12+) having begun the vaccination process, and more than 60 percent fully vaccinated, the Fire Chief joined the Mayor in announcing the Seattle-Fire operated Rainier Beach and West Seattle vaccination hubs (and Lumen Event Field, North Seattle hub) would close in June. The West Seattle hub will close on June 9 and the Rainier Beach hub on June 23. With these closures, our SODO site located at 3820 6^th Ave. S. has begun to administer vaccinations and will continue to do so through the summer months (up to 700 per day). All three vaccines will be offered at SODO, and second doses can also be administered with proof of first vaccination; no appointment required.

As we wind down our vaccination sites, the Seattle Fire Department will continue to host pop-up clinics across the City through the summer months in partnership with local businesses. This is part of our strategy to vaccinate those in our community, and most pop-up clinics are offering fun incentives to those receiving a shot. The department will also continue to have a presence at Seattle Mariners games and Sounders FC matches to provide vaccinations to fans (1^st or 2^nd doses). Visit our Twitter site for the latest events and don’t miss the following pop-up clinics below:

Recruit Class 114 goes out to ops

On May 20, we held an "Out to Operations" ceremony for Recruit Class 114. This marks their successful completion of recruit school and their transition to probationary firefighters. For the next year, they will be working alongside veteran firefighters in serving our community.

Keeping you safe

National CPR and AED Awareness Week

Knowing simple hands-only CPR can save a life. For National CPR and AED Awareness Week (June 1-7), we published a hands-only CPR video showing you what to do if you see someone collapse. Here are the steps:

Call 9-1-1 or send someone else to call 9-1-1
1. Know your location
2. Send someone to get an AED, if available
3. Turn on phone speaker if you are alone
4. If you do not speak English, tell the dispatcher what language you speak. Stay on the phone and turn on speaker
5. Listen to 9-1-1 and follow the directions they give you, to do CPR
Make sure the scene is safe
If the person is not responsive or not breathing normally – tap them on the shoulder and shout, “Are you ok. Are you ok?” If the person doesn’t move, speak, blink or otherwise react, then he or she is not responding.
Move person to a hard, flat surface
Place one hand on top of the other, in the center of the chest, right between the nipples
Get up directly over the person’s chest locking your arms straight and shoulders aligned over the chest
Lace your fingers together and use only the heel of your hand to push on the center of the chest
Push DOWN hard (at least two inches) then let all your weight off the chest so the chest goes all the way back UP to its neutral position
Push HARD and FAST (100-120 times per minute)
Don’t stop until help arrives or take turns with someone if you get tired

Fireworks safety

Fireworks are illegal in Seattle, and igniting them in hot, dry weather can spell disaster. Last Independence Day, our firefighters responded to a brush fire in West Seattle caused by fireworks that extended to a nearby apartment building. Fortunately, no one was hurt ,and our crews were able to quickly extinguish the fire.

Even sparklers can be dangerous because they can burn hotter than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. They are the most common fireworks-related injury for children under five.

In 2019, Harborview treated 44 people for fireworks-related injuries in just the week leading up July 4. Seven suffered either partial or complete amputations, ranging from loss of fingers to an entire hand, while 20 were injured severely enough to be admitted to the hospital.

Don't become a statistic! Save your face, eyes, fingers and hands. The risk of losing a limb or permanent disability is not worth the short-sighted thrill of setting off illegal fireworks.

Water safety

Even when the outside temperatures are high, water temperatures around Seattle can be cold enough to overwhelm even the strongest swimmer. Sadly, we respond to many preventable drownings every year. According to Public Health - Seattle & King County, 54 died in preventable drownings last year.

Read our Fireline Blog for water safety tips.