Seattle Fire’s new, high-tech solutions to get to your emergencies faster
May 17, 2017
The Seattle Fire Department is rolling out brand-new technology as part of a series of steps that are improving service and addressing the massive increase in non-emergency calls.
Of the 97,043 calls Seattle Fire responded to each year, the department estimates 25-40 percent are what it calls low-acuity. They are non-emergency calls like minor illnesses, homeless individuals sleeping on the street, and help with refilling prescription medications.
“Every time that a unit goes out for a low-acuity alarm, that unit is out of service and they can’t respond to a fire, a car accident, a cardiac arrest, etcetera,” Jon Ehrenfeld, head of Seattle Fire’s low acuity program, said. “So it’s a really big concern.”