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Seattle Fire Position Spotlight – Battalion Chief

This month’s position specific spotlight is: BATTALION CHIEF!

The City of Seattle is divided up in six battalions (five geographical) for fire department operations, and each is commanded by a battalion chief. The Northwest region of the City is Battalion 4, Northeast is Battalion 6, downtown core is Battalion 2, West Seattle is Battalion 7 and Southeast is Battalion 5. Battalion 3 refers to members who work as firefighter-paramedics and staff our medic units which respond from various fire stations located throughout the City. We also have several Battalion Chiefs who serve in administrative roles. In total, the department has 25 members who hold the title of Battalion Chief spread across the four platoons (shifts).

Battalion Chiefs are responsible for serving as the incident commander at incidents that primarily occur in their battalion, to include vehicle collisions requiring extrication, hazardous material incidents, water rescues, fires, rope rescues, confined space rescues and more. The role of the Battalion Chief is to command and dedicate resources at these incidents to successfully mitigate the issue while keeping life safety and property preservation at the forefront. Battalion Chiefs are leaders in the department and are knowledgeable about Standard Operating Guidelines, procedures and policies. They help to train firefighters on SFD operations and serve as a mentor to company officers (lieutenants and captains) to help them excel in their role.

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