EXCLUSIVE: “The city is without firefighters today.”
Seattle Fire turned many units offline due to a staffing crisis caused by the vaccine mandate.
Even while leaning on OT, spending hundreds of thousands extra, the city doesn’t have enough staff.
https://twitter.com/jasonrantz/status/1454874495987040256
https://archive.md/gKXB2
Rantz: Seattle Fire turns units offline, spends hundreds of thousands in overtime
https://mynorthwest.com/3210900/rantz-seattle-fire-units-offline-spends-overtime/
Saturday staffing was minimally impacted due to overtime. Still, two aid cars are out of service — one in Northgate and another in Downtown/Belltown. But according to two sources, at least the following units were offline due to staffing shortages on Sunday:
A-2 24hr Aid car Belltown
A-25 24 hr Aid car Capitol Hill
A-5 24 hr Aid car Pioneer Square
A4 12 hr Aid car Belltown
A31 12 hr Aid car Northgate
M-18 24 hr Medic Unit Ballard
E8 24 hr Engine Queen Anne
E32 24 Engine Alaska Junction/West Seattle
Additionally, one source says Rescue 1 is down one rescue tech, only running with three instead of four. Two of the online units were sent to the Seahawks game on Sunday.
“The city is without firefighters today,” one firefighter tells me. “Someone will die today as a result.”
>This is SIGNIFICANT
>The units offline impact huge sections of Seattle, downtown and Cap Hill primarily
>I was listening to the scanner earlier and SFD refused to go to a MVI w/ airbag deployment. The officer was absolutely stunned and sounded shocked and irritated at the same time: "What do you mean SFD isn't coming? There was airbag deployment"
>Turns out the MVI involved a domestic dispute and the subjects were fighting and said they didn't want aid…'so SFD was okey doke fine by us we won't go'