Kenny Stuart, president of the Seattle Fire Fighters Union, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 27, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss a $7.1 million cut to the fire department proposed in the city's budget.
Stuart described what he says the cut would mean for response times and unit closures, how the union is educating the public and elected officials and how he went from union carpenter to firefighter.
- Stuart said the proposed $7.1 million cut to the Seattle Fire Department’s budget would force the fire chief to close units on a rotating basis in a department he said has been short-staffed for years. The action would push Seattle further behind a national standard that calls for engines to arrive in under four minutes 90 percent of the time on EMS runs.
- Stuart said modern homes full of plastics and petroleum-based materials mean fires reach their worst in about three to five minutes, which is about the time crews usually arrive. This makes the focus on response time a turning point for families and firefighters.
- Stuart said the union has launched an informational website, firefightersavelives.com, is meeting with elected officials, and uses the IAFF's Fire Ops program to let officials and the media experience the job. He also pointed to Medic One, a world-renowned program, which he does not want cut.
From the Carpenters Hall to the Fire Station
Kenny Stuart, president of the Seattle Fire Fighters Union, IAFF Local 27, said he has worked since he was 14. His employment includes time as a member of Carpenters Local 131 in Seattle, where he did shell-and-core work, bridges and later some finished carpentry.
Construction work includes occasional layoffs, he said, and one Christmas, while sitting in the union hall without a job, he joined a business agent on a picket line at a nearby mall. He learned a lot that day about supporting union Brothers and Sisters, he said, and later a friend, a former carpenter turned firefighter, showed him the path into fire service.
Construction knowledge helps on the job, he said. Firefighters must assess what a fire is doing to a building to determine how much time they have.
$7 Million and the Prospect of Closed Units
The mayor of Seattle has presented a budget to city council that includes a $7.1 million cut to the fire department budget, Stuart said. The department with the city's second-largest budget may look like an attractive place to cut, he admitted, but the department has been short-staffed for years. Stuart said the department cannot afford the cut. In fact, it needs more resources.
The mayor has worked on the budget since January, Stuart said, and the nine-member city council has heard public comment with a lot of support.
If the cuts are approved, the department will not lose members, Stuart said, because it has been understaffed for years. However, the fire chief has indicated that he will have to close units on a rotating basis, Stuart said.
Why Three to Five Minutes Matter
Seattle's firefighters will always show up. That adaptability is the department’s greatest strength and greatest weakness, Stuart said, because it breeds complacency. With units occasionally out of service, crews will arrive later and work less safely, he said.
Fires can double in size every minute, he explained, and with homes now full of plastics and petroleum-based materials, they reach their worst in about three to five minutes – often about the time a fire crew arrives.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) calls for an engine on an EMS run to arrive in under four minutes at least 90 percent of the time. Seattle is already well behind that average, Stuart said. By law, the fire department must publish an annual report, but has not done so for a couple of years, Stuart said, so they are relying on outdated performance reports.
A Budget Fight Over Priorities
Asked why a city as big as Seattle cannot find the money, Stuart said many cities face competing priorities. The fire department is often taken for granted, he said, but it costs money and is a primary responsibility in the city charter. Other initiatives become attractive, and city officials looked to the fire budget for savings, expecting the public would not complain, he said.
The local business community has not weighed in yet, Stuart said. Seattle is about to overtake San Francisco in population, with a population just shy of 800,000. It has a large shipping base, a busy port and a growing tech sector. The union built firefighterssavelives.com to explain the data and make their case. The information was shared with the city, and they hope the website will help educate the public that does not think about 911 until it is needed, he said.
A Union Galvanized and a World-Renowned Program
The proposed budget cuts are demoralizing, Stuart said, but the Local is strong. The morale hit stems from the city administration's priorities, not from how members feel about the job, he said. Members are calling union leaders to ask how they can help.
Stuart pointed to Medic One, a program that began in Seattle in 1969. It helped inspire the popular 70s TV show, “Emergency!” The program trains firefighters as highly skilled, certified paramedics capable of delivering emergency room–level cardiac and trauma care on-scene and en route.
It has led to Seattle achieving cardiac arrest survival rates two to three times higher than the average in most major U.S. cities, and it serves as a global model for pre-hospital emergency medicine. When a city considers cuts that can impact such a world-renowned program, Stuart said it is ridiculous.
Fire Ops: Letting Officials Feel the Heat
In his 30 years on the job, Stuart said the union has built a political program on education, awareness and relationships with decision-makers. It is encouraging elected officials to make the right decision and telling the public what is at stake, he said.
The IAFF's Fire Ops program allows elected officials and the media to experience the department's training. This includes a simulated fire, climbing the aerial ladder, riding in a paramedic unit, doing CPR and crawling through tunnels that simulate a dark, smoky hallway.
Some participants have been unable to complete the program, but they all gain a new awareness, Stuart said. Still, many officials get distracted by community voices that want money spent differently, he said, but he hopes they will keep one of the best fire departments and emergency medical systems in the world.
An Oath With No Backup
Unlike some other city employees, firefighters cannot ignore a call, Stuart said. When the bell hits, they go, and when they arrive, there is nobody else to call. They train every day and need the city's resources and support. He hopes city officials will put the money where it needs to be.
More information about Seattle Fire Fighters Union, IAFF Local 27, is available at iaff27.org and firefighterssavelives.com.
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