From its incorporation in 1905 with a population of 400, Kirkland has grown to a population of 44,220 over 11 sq. miles. The Kirkland Fire Department’s response area, which includes the city limits and Fire District #41, covers 19.6 sq. miles and a population of nearly 80,000. The terrain varies from waterfront property and parks to wooded areas and residences; with elevations ranging from sea level to 500 ft.

Kirkland Fire and Building Department employs approximately 100 employees who are involved in a diverse range of activities. The department provides 24-hour coverage for fire suppression, technical rescue, and emergency medical and also provides fire prevention and education, fire investigations, inspections, and code compliance to the population. Emergency response totals about 7,200 calls annually, about 80-percent of which is for medical aid.

---

Kirkland Fire and Building Department Mission Statement

To provide Fire, Building, and Emergency services to our community through a cost effective and efficient delivery system to enhance a safe environment for the public.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

2007 RESPONSE TIME OBJECTIVES REPORT (PDF)

AREA INFORMATION

PERSONNEL

VEHICLES AND APPARATUS

EMS RESPONSES AND TRANSPORTS (2005)

---

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

As a result of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the City of Kirkland organized its first Fire Brigade in 1890. Kirkland’s residents watched across the shores of Lake Washington as the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 destroyed Seattle. The first paid Fire Chief was hired in 1928. The first paid firefighters for the City of Kirkland were hired in 1970. As a tribute to their heritage, the Kirkland Firefighters refurbished its original motorized pumper, a 1929 American LaFrance. It is on display at one of its stations, and is driven in the annual Fire Festival Parade in Seattle commemorating the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.


AREA INFORMATION

The summers are beautiful with temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s with little precipitation. The summer weather attracts many visitors to Kirkland’s waterfront parks, marinas and downtown area. The winters are wet with an average annual precipitation of 34.1 inches with occasional snow in the area, mainly in the hills.

To the west, the city is bordered by approximately six miles of waterfront dedicated to public use, which is one of the largest proportions of public waterfront in the region.

The city is also bisected by Interstate 405, which is a main route for passenger and commercial vehicles. Interstate 405, which connects with Interstate 5, provides north-south access around Lake Washington. This connects suburban Northeast King County with the Greater Seattle Area.

Also, a railroad servicing both commerce and passenger trains runs through the city crossing at several highly traveled roadways.

Several communities are at the 500 ft. level. Inclement winter weather can produce snow and freezing road conditions at these higher elevations. This can pose access problems, and reduce response times. In the same communities, some homes were built with narrow and steep access roads, which limit the number of apparatus accessible to the residence even under normal weather conditions.

In addition, the encroachment of residential and commercial development on the waterparks, wooded areas and two State Parks presents possible wildland interface problems in some communities.

Along with the increasing single family residential development in the area, several multi-level luxurious condominiums are being constructed in the downtown area to take advantage of the picturesque views of Lake Washington and the Olympic mountain range.

PERSONNEL

Fire Chief

Jeff Blake was appointed Director of Fire and Building in January 1997. Prior to his appointment to the City of Kirkland, Chief Blake was the Deputy Chief of the City of Redmond Fire Department, which shares Kirkland’s eastern boundary. Chief Blake started in the fire service as a volunteer in 1972 and worked his way up the ranks to his current position.

As Director of Fire and Building, Chief Blake oversees the offices of the Deputy Chief of Administration, the Building Services Manager and the Deputy Chief of Operations.

• The Deputy Chief of Administration oversees the department’s administration, prevention and emergency preparedness divisions.
• The Building Services Manager oversees the Building Inspectors, Permit Technicians and Plans Examiners.
• The Deputy Chief of Operations oversees Fire Operations and Emergency Medical Services, and Training.

Fire Emergency Services has 75 uniformed personnel. In addition, 24 volunteers serve as support personnel at emergency scenes; two volunteer chaplains are on-call for crisis intervention for emergency personnel and the public.

The Deputy Chief of Operations oversees the Emergency Services Division. The Division consists of Fire Operations and Emergency Medical Services, and Training.

• Fire Operations and Emergency Medical Services has three shift Battalion Chiefs, nine Captains, nine Lieutenants, and 50 firefighters.
• The Training Division consists of a Battalion Chief and a Captain. The Battalion Chief of Training is the designated Safety Officer.
• A portion of the duties of the Community Education and Information Specialist includes Emergency Preparedness.

Operating Budget

• $10.3 Million Fire Services ($2.6 Million paid by Fire District #41 for contracted services)
• $1.5 Million Building Division
• $11.8 Million Total Fire and Building Department Budget

Work Schedule

Shift staffing is done

on a three shift-platoon rotation. The schedule is a 24/48 rotation with 13 K-Days a year for a 49.7-hour workweek.

Staffing Levels

The City of Kirkland staffs six fire stations with a minimum of 17 paid personnel on-duty per shift.

• Three engine and aid stations, staffing 3
• One truck and aid station, staffing 3
• Two aid stations, staffing 2
• Shift Battalion Chief, staffing 1

In the Fire District, support personnel staff an Air Unit and an Aid Unit, with three from 1930 to 0500. Volunteer chaplains are on-call.

Kirkland Fire handles all BLS treatment and transport and is supported by Evergreen Hospital Medical Center for ALS treatment and transport. EHMC Medic One is a publicly funded service. Both Kirkland Fire and EHMC Medic One are part of the King County Medic One Program.

Vehicles and Apparatus

Front Line Apparatus

• Engine 22 1996 Seagrave 1500 gpm pump with 500 gal. tank
• Engine 25 1987 Volvo/White 1000 gpm pump with 500 gal. tank
• Engine 27 1993 Seagrave 1500 gpm pump with 500 gal. tank
• *All engines are equipped with both Class A and Class B foam
• Truck 26 1997 Simon/LTI 100’ tillered aerial, 1250 gpm pump with 300 gal. tank
• Aid 21 1997 Ford/Road Rescue Box
• Aid 22 1991 Ford Collins Box
• Aid 24 1989 Ford Cayel-Craft Van
• Aid 25 1994 Ford Cayel-Craft Box
• Aid 26 1997 Ford Amtech Box
• Aid 27 1993 Ford/Road Rescue Box
• Battalion 21 1998 Chevy Suburban 4X4 Sport Utility Vehicle
• Deputy Chief 1998 Jeep Cherokee 4X4 Sport Utility Vehicle

Reserve Apparatus

• Reserve Engine 21/28 1985 Ford Anderson 1000 gpm pump with 500 gal. tank
• Reserve Truck 1982 Sutphen 1000 gpm pump with 500 gal. tank
• Reserve Aid Car 1989 Ford Cayel-Craft Box

Specialized Apparatus

• Engine 20 1981 Chevy/Utah LaGrange 4X4 Brush Truck, 500 gpm pump with 200 gal. tank
• Air Unit 21 1982 Ford Anderson P.A.L – Power, Air, and Light

Color of Apparatus

All apparatus are red with white striping.

Maintenance

The City of Kirkland maintains all department vehicles at the City Shops. The department has two SCBA-certified technicians. The service shop is at Station 22. The air compressor and cascade system is located at Station 26.

Communications

Incident reporting from the public is achieved through the use of an Enhanced 911 system. This E-911 system provides both the address and phone number of the caller, which improves our ability to gain accurate information from the caller. This in turn helps to reduce errors and reduce response times to emergencies.

Communications are provided by a joint operating agreement known as the Eastside Public Communications Agency (EPSCA). EPSCA was created as a result of a County wide public safety bond to bring 800 MHz radios to our region. EPSCA is a sub region provider of 800 MHz radio communications for police, fire, public works, and school districts.

Fire dispatching is provided by contract with the City of Bellevue. We are part of a regional dispatch system, which has been in place for more than twenty years. This regional dispatch allows for automatic aid to be provided in a seamless fashion. Agencies operating under the dispatch center’s agreement for service disregard jurisdictional boundaries and send the closest emergency response resources.

Running Card Assignments

• High Value and Residential Fires: three engines, a truck, a Battalion Chief and an air unit.
• Rescue Response: an engine, a truck, an aid unit, an Automatic Aid medic, a Battalion Chief, and an air unit.
• Traffic Accidents: an engine and an aid unit
• Freeway Accident Response: two aid units (travelling in opposing directions), a truck and a Battalion Chief*
• *For all freeway responses, the Battalion Chief is dispatched.
• Aid Response: aid unit
• Medic Response: aid unit, and an Automatic Aid medic
• CPR: aid unit, an Automatic Aid medic, a Battalion Chief, and police*
• *The Battalion Chief will request a chaplain at his/her discretion.
• The Incident Commander will request for the Safety Officer when needed.
  

Training

The Training Division is staffed with a Battalion Chief and a Captain. Currently the Training Division is being combined with two neighboring Fire Departments, the Redmond Fire Department and Woodinville Fire & Life Safety. The consolidation of the three Training Divisions will facilitate Regional Group Training, which addresses EMT-D Competency Based Training (CBT), and State and Federal mandated firefighter training.

In addition, the Training Division oversees all the training requirements and certification for specialized training, i.e. haz-mat, high angle rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, near shore water rescue, wildland firefighting.

Automatic/Mutual Aid

Kirkland Fire is contracted to provide fire and EMS services for King County Fire District #41, located northwest of the city boundaries.

Also, Kirkland Fire responds on automatic aid to its five neighboring cities and Fire Districts. Those neighboring cities and Fire Districts include: City of Bellevue, City of Redmond, City of Woodinville, City of Bothell and Northshore Fire District #16.

King County is divided into five zones to provide for county wide coordination of fire suppression, emergency medical, rescue, and haz-mat. The Kirkland Fire Department is one of nine agencies in Zone 1 that participates in the task force and strike team program.

ISO Rating

Class 4 WA State Survey Rating for Service Area

Prevention Services

With Fire and Building in the same department, the enforcement of the Uniform Fire Code and local ordinances is facilitated through coordination and cooperation between Building Inspectors and Deputy Fire Marshals.

In addition, Fire Prevention Services personnel provide technical assistance to citizens and respond to safety concerns in the community. Deputy Fire Marshals provide fire safety education to various community organizations, employees of various businesses, and students of the various schools in department’s response area.

As a part of Prevention Services, trained personnel work with juvenile fire setters and their families in an intervention program designed to provide guidance to the family on where to turn. See Fire Stoppers for more details on this program.

Future Plans

The software, aviation, and wireless telephone industries have increased the population and commerce to the region. With the increased commercial and residential development, and population growth, the City of Kirkland is establishing plans to provide the necessary emergency services associated with this growth.

During the current year and next year, the department will take possession of a new Aid Car and two new engines to replace current apparatus.

Secondly, the department is looking to purchase a fire/rescue boat and to train a dive/rescue team to increase its protection of the city’s treasured waterfront and to better serve those who enjoy the water of Lake Washington.

Also, the department is looking into Auto Vehicle Locators and the Global Positioning System to improve personnel accountability and as a means to decrease its emergency response time. The goal is to achieve an average response time of less than 5.00 minutes.

Finally, the recent joining of the Training Divisions by the three fire departments will eliminate duplicating efforts among the departments and improve training for all personnel.

With the continued growth in the region, the future presents many challenges to Kirkland Fire. With a combined effort from the Fire Chief and uniformed personnel, the department will be able to implement plans to maintain the excellent professional service the community demands and deserves.