SEATTLE — Seattle’s firefighters union IAFF Local 17 is warning that Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s budget proposal will make their response times longer if the $7.06 million cut to overtime is approved.
In her proposed budget, staff acknowledges that engines or entire stations may be taken offline because of the cuts, saying “the department will decrease reliance on overtime staffing and implement planned unit outages as necessary, minimizing operational impact when possible.”
“We can’t sit by and let the Mayor reduce responses to people when they call 911.” Lt. Kenny Stuart said, the Local 27 president.
SFD Chief Harold Scoggins and Stuart say cuts to overtime will result in 13 fewer firefighters on staff, from 222 to 209.
“Depending on staffing levels, four to six units may be taken out of service daily to meet this reduction. This could also mean closing a fire station for a shift if the outage occurs in a single house,” Scoggins said in a message about the budget to firefighters.
Stuart says this will further stress an already-stressed fire department that has served a city that has grown 30% since 2010 and has sent 40% more calls SFD’s way with 3% fewer staff to respond, all since 2010, the union said.
“Our fire department should be resilient before it’s efficient,” Stuart said. “We have our fire department running with a skeleton crew, then we’re going to be in trouble when an earthquake happens.”
Stuart says cuts will lead to longer response times.
The National Fire Protection Association sets a standard of 90% of ‘basic life support’ calls to have a response on scene within four minutes.
In 2025, 67% of Seattle Fire calls were responded to within that time, down from 74% reported in 2023.
“People will wait longer when they call 911, when their house is on fire, or when they have a heart attack,” Stuart said."
Response times aside, Stuart says firefighters are struggling to fit in earthquake-response training because of staffing levels.
He points out that even though Seattle has a Wildland Fire team trained to respond to wildfires, they cannot be sent to help with regional or national wildfires because Seattle Fire has little wiggle room in staffing.
Stuart, the Local 27 President for 20 years, says the problem started in the Great Recession, when the city put the department on a hiring freeze. With retirements still coming, it sent the department behind, and Stuart says it still hasn’t caught up.
“Not only do we need to stay and keep the resources that we have and the budget we have, but we also need to grow up,” Stuart said.
In response to these concerns, a Mayor’s Spokesperson points to a 100-recruit class for SFD in 2026, with 60-person recruitment classes in 2027 and 2028.
“The proposed budget aligns ongoing overtime resources with the department’s current staffing levels and demonstrates expenditure trends while continuing to fund recruitment efforts. As new recruits complete training and join the department, they will help increase staffing levels,” the spokesperson’s statement read.
Mayor’s Office Full Statement:
“The 2027-2028 Proposed Budget makes targeted adjustments in the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) to align ongoing resources with the City’s overall budget constraints, current operating capacity and actual expenditure trends. The budget reduces ongoing funding by approximately $4.5 million while making targeted investments in pension, maintenance, and utility costs.
The budget also continues to support SFD’s efforts to address elevated vacancy rates. The budget fully funds firefighter salaries; however, the department is currently operating below fully staffed levels, resulting in salary savings associated with vacant positions. These savings provide flexibility to address other personnel costs, including overtime needed to maintain emergency response coverage. SFD is funded for 60-person recruit classes in both 2027 and 2028, following the 100-person recruit class funded in 2026. The larger 2026 recruit class, along with continued hiring in subsequent years, is expected to support progress toward reducing vacancies and stabilizing staffing levels.
The proposed budget aligns ongoing overtime resources with the department’s current staffing levels and demonstrated expenditure trends while continuing to fund recruitment efforts. As new recruits complete training and join the department, they will help increase staffing levels.”