On Sept. 21, a sunny Saturday, fans filled Husky Stadium for the UW’s first Big-10 football game. Across town, the Mexican band Grupo Firme played to a nearly sold-out crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. As usual, firefighters and paramedics were on hand at the events in case of emergency; the city requires that event promoters pay for off-duty fire personnel working overtime on their days off.
On this day, however, the fire department took six on-duty neighborhood units out of service to staff the Husky game and concert: The Ballard paramedic unit, Northgate aid car, and engine companies from Queen Anne, Greenwood, Madison Park, and Crown Hill.
A KUOW investigation found that the Seattle Fire Department diverted on-duty staff to work special events 147 times between September 2023 and November 2024, leaving fewer units to respond to emergencies citywide…