The City of Seattle needs new firefighters and launched a new recruitment drive at the Joint Training Facility on Myers Way SW on Tuesday June 30, Fire Chief Harold Scoggins and Mayor Ed Murray spoke to reporters about the need to bring in new young recruits to join a department in need of at least 90 new people at a rate of 60 per year.

Mayor Murray explained that "currently more than 80% of all fire/emergency responses are medical in nature, a trend that is expected to grow. Cardiac arrest patients treated by one of our firefighters are more than twice as likely to survive than anywhere else in the nation." He said that the department "must reflect the diversity of our city... We need to recruit more women, and this is a significant issue. We need to recruit more people of color, particularly African American firefighters, a number that has actually dropped in recent years. And I would hope we were also able to recruit gay and lesbian people who are out."

The Mayor explained that "There are 98 positions and it is a grueling 15 weeks" for the training much of which takes place at the Joint Training Facility. As he spoke, training was actually taking place in other parts of the facility.

While there are open positions and the training sessions provide 60 new members per year, current shortfalls are being met by overtime scheduling where necessary.
The next training session is set for August of 2016.

Those seeking to join the Seattle Fire Department must meet these minium requirements:

• Candidates must be at least 18 years of age.
• Candidates must have a high school diploma or have passed an equivalency test (GED).
• Candidates must possess a valid Driver's License.
• Eligible to work in the United States.
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification is not required at the time of application. Candidates must possess or be eligible for a valid Washington State EMT certification at the time of hire. The Department offers enrollment in an EMT course to a limited number of candidates. See: EMT Requirement.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English
• Meet or exceed established standards throughout the Testing Process.
• Meet or exceed established standards throughout the Pre-Employment Screening process.

Questions about the testing process, including questions regarding the application process, test dates and veteran's scoring criteria should be directed to the City of Seattle Department of Human Resources Fire & Police Exams Unit via email to Colleen.Lafferty@seattle.gov or by phone at (206) 615-0581.

For all other questions about the hiring process, please email SFD.Recruitment@seattle.gov.