Seattle  During the Oct. 30 budget session the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) and committee staff outlined proposals to expand SFDs HealthONE mobile integrated-health program and to add aid-car staffing intended to improve medical-response efficiency.

SFD 30 would add one unit to HealthONE, providing two additional firefighter-administrative FTE and a case manager in HSD for a combined initial cost of approximately $725,000 (SFD and HSD). Chair Dan Strauss, sponsor of the HealthONE expansion CBA, said HealthONE helps individuals navigate medical, mental-health and housing needs in their moment of crisis and has expanded steadily since its pilot.

Council President Nelson sponsored SFD 101, a $2.3 million proposal to add 10 firefighters to staff a 24/7 aid car. Councilmember Rink offered SFD 102 as a lower-cost alternative: $1.4 million to add five firefighters for a 12-hour peak aid car. Supporters said either option would reduce the need to dispatch larger engines to medical aid calls, freeing them for fire responses and lowering cost and operational inefficiency.

Why it matters: Councilmembers described the proposals as attempts to right-size responses so medically oriented calls are handled by appropriate units. Staff cautioned that the near-term staffing costs could fluctuate because SFD may use overtime to staff new units until new hires come on board.

Work ahead: The proposals were introduced for further committee consideration. Councilmembers and staff asked SFD to provide deployment and overtime-cost detail so the chairs package can evaluate the trade-offs between the two aid-car options and the HealthONE expansion.

Ending note: No votes were held in the morning session. Sponsors said they expected the committee to compare cost-effectiveness and response-time impacts before finalizing any add.