Annual awards luncheon
We invite you to join Seattle Fire as we celebrate our 2023 award recipients.
Our luncheon recognizes the bravery, heroism and excellence of our employees as well as community members who have provided invaluable assistance on an emergency scene.
Mark the date and location: April 18 at the Embassy Suites Pioneer Square (255. S. King Street, Seattle).
Position spotlight: firefighter/paramedic
 Firefighter/Paramedics are dedicated and hard-working individuals who spend their shifts providing life-saving care to the community. Paramedics respond to medical emergencies,
working fires, hazardous material calls and rescue responses. They are trained as paramedics through Seattle Fire Department’s Medic One program in cooperation with
Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington. They are trained in Advanced Life Support (ALS) which includes skills such as CPR, placing IVs, delivering medications,
intubation, reading EKGs and more.
To become a paramedic, department firefighters apply for the position through Medic One, and if accepted, begin a yearlong training program. The program runs under the close
supervision of the Medical Director at Harborview Medical Center and veteran paramedics. Paramedic trainees must successfully complete the intensive hands-on training and instruction before becoming paramedic with Medic One.
Fire Chief Harold Scoggins joins local leaders to announce the new Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network (PSERN)
Fire Chief Harold Scoggins joined Executive Dow Constantine and other local leaders on Feb. 15 to announce the new Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network (PSERN), which is a voter-approved radio system used for dispatching and communication between agencies in our region. Firefighters in our region utilize radios thousands of times per day at emergency responses to relay tactical information. Whether it’s communicating internally within our own agencies or sharing information with partners at law enforcement, dispatch centers, hospitals and more, having a reliable radio system is critical to our shared mission of saving lives and protecting property. With PSERN in place, we have enhanced our regional interoperability, added back-end redundancies and have improved the radio tower coverage area. The new system will carry us well into the future. Read more about PSERN.
|
Feb. 8 marked two years of SFD’s Nurse Navigation Program
When calling 9-1-1, a hospital’s emergency department may not be the best solution based on medical needs. Feb. 8 marked two years since the Seattle Fire Department implemented the Nurse Navigation program, which is a partnership with Global Medical Response that provides an option to connect some 9-1-1 callers to a nurse navigator. The nurse helps callers reach the appropriate level of care based on needs, which may include transportation to a local clinic, urgent care or hospital emergency department. Learn more about the Nurse Navigation Program.
|
Rescue swimmers participate in drill on Seattle waterfront
Did you know Seattle has nearly 200 miles of shoreline? SFD trains regularly to always be ready to respond to water rescues. The department’s rescue swimmers continuously train for the moment they are dispatched to help someone in the water. Rescue swimmers can enter the water rapidly to conduct surface water rescues in all areas of Seattle on a 24-hour basis. They are trained to swim 300 feet out from the shoreline and 20 feet deep (sometimes deeper during actual rescue scenarios) while rescuing people in distress. Drills like this require conditioning, endurance and practicing lifesaving skills. Check out a recent video posted to SFD’s social media.
|
Donnie Chin posthumously awarded Medal of Valor
 From left to right: Washington State Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez, Connie Chin (sister of Donnie Chin), Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. Photo by NW Asian Weekly
On Feb. 21, Donnie Chin was posthumously awarded the Medal of Valor in a ceremony held at the state Legislative Building. Governor Jay Inslee, Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Chief Justice Steven C. González presented the
medal to Donnie’s sister, Connie Chin.
The Medal of Valor is awarded to anyone who has saved, or attempted to save, the life of another at the risk of their own safety and is not acting in the course of duty as a Washington police officer, firefighter or other government-employed first responder.
“These are the highest civilian honors awarded to the people of Washington, and it is my privilege to bestow recognitions on such worthy recipients,” Secretary
Hobbs said.
Donnie Chin founded the International District Emergency Center (IDEC) volunteer organization in Seattle in 1968. For more than 40 years, Mr. Chin selflessly patrolled Chinatown, Little Japantown and Little Saigon areas. From the time he was a teenager,
he walked the streets watching for people’s safety, especially elderly residents. He broke down cultural and language barriers in the area while he fed those experiencing food insecurity, assisted in many emergency calls and passed out his number to anyone
who needed it. The Seattle Fire Department called him a “guardian angel” and made many attempts to hire him, but his first love was volunteering for his community.
“He dedicated his life to serving the Chinatown International District and was a vital liaison in building trust and understanding with the Seattle Fire Department,” Seattle Fire Department Chief Harold D. Scoggins said.
Chin was killed in a shooting in 2015.
The Seattle Fire Department published a video on Donnie’s impact on the people he worked with and the community he served.
Daylight saving safety reminder
The Seattle Fire Department would like to remind everyone to check your smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms for the start of daylight saving time (March 10). We recommend carefully vacuuming around the alarms to remove dust and cobwebs and replace batteries if needed.
Changing smoke and CO alarm batteries once a year is an effective way to reduce home fire deaths and CO poisoning. Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by nearly one-half by providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to escape. Consider installing a long-life battery powered smoke/CO alarm to avoid yearly battery replacements.
|
Every home in Seattle should have the protection of smoke/CO alarms. As a reminder, if the smoke or CO alarms sounds, get out and call 9-1-1 from a safe location.
Learn more about smoke/CO alarms including how to get a free smoke/CO alarm from the Seattle Fire Department.
|
|
