8 Seattle firefighters injured in North Seattle house fire as union warns of budget cuts

Eight Seattle firefighters were injured early Thursday while battling a house fire in North Seattle, just one day after the city’s firefighters union warned that Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed budget could reduce the department’s ability to respond to emergencies.

Seattle Fire Department (SFD) crews were called to a residence near Sand Point Way NE and NE 120th Street shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday. Seattle Fire’s real-time incident log showed the fire was reported at 2:41 a.m.

During the firefight, part of an exterior structure, reportedly a deck, collapsed. Eight firefighters were injured, and three were taken to Harborview Medical Center for evaluation, according to Seattle Fire.

“Everyone jumped in, handled it, took care of each other,” Seattle Fire PIO Kaila Lafferty told KIRO Newsradio. “Everyone was accounted for, and they were able to, you know, mitigate that concern and the dangers with that pretty rapidly.”

A man in his 50s who was inside the home was also treated and taken to Harborview in stable condition.

Seattle Fire Department’s budget woes

The fire came one day after Seattle Fire Fighters Union President Kenny Stuart criticized Mayor Katie Wilson’s proposed 2027-28 budget, warning that cuts to the department could affect staffing and emergency response.

“This budget proposal does not meet Seattle’s public safety needs. In fact, it reduces our ability to respond quickly in an emergency,” Stuart said.

Stuart said the proposal would reduce funding for the Fire Department and rely on rotating closures of fire engines, fire trucks, and fire stations. He also said fewer firefighters would be on duty each day.

Wilson’s proposed budget totals about $9.1 billion and is designed to address what her administration describes as an inherited structural deficit. The mayor says the plan keeps the city’s budget balanced through 2030 through spending reductions and efficiencies.

“We cannot keep lurching from shortfall to shortfall, year after year,” Wilson said. “We cannot keep kicking the can down the road, because there is no more road. This budget tells the truth about where we are and still dares to point toward where we are going.”

The proposal includes nearly $50 million in reductions next year and eliminates 128 full-time city positions, although Wilson said 113 of those positions are vacant. The mayor’s proposal also calls for reducing fire department overtime spending rather than eliminating firefighter positions outright.

“I do not say that number lightly as the people in those filled positions, each with a family budget of their own, navigate their options,” Wilson said. “I am not touching this city’s reserves. We live in Seattle – there’s always rain in the forecast. That is the discipline.”

The firefighters union argues the mayor’s distinction on overtime reduction is important because the department relies on overtime to maintain minimum staffing levels and meet national standards.

The proposed budget now goes to the Seattle City Council for review.

For the eight firefighters injured Thursday morning, the immediate priority was responding to a fire and getting a North Seattle resident out safely. All eight injuries were reported as minor.

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