Bellevue is the fifth largest city in Washington and one of its fastest growing, with a fire department that has grown to meet the expanding needs of our community. We respond to approximately 20,000 incidents each year, 75% of them medical in nature.
The department maintains one of the highest cardiac arrest survival rates in world. One of a select few firefighting agencies with a Class 2 rating from the Washington State Survey and Rating Bureau, Bellevue Fire ranks in the top 1% of the 46,699 departments in the U.S., and is one of the top three in the state.
Emergency Preparedness
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, and that includes being prepared for large-scale emergencies such as major power grid outages or a major earthquake. We encourage you to refresh your emergency preparedness kits this year. See details on our Prepare for Known Hazards page.
Heating Safety
We want everyone to stay cozy, while following basic guidelines to follow to keep stay safe. The National Fire Protection Association offers these tips:
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment such as the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.
- Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
- Never use your oven, or in the case of a power outage, your barbecue grill, to heat your home.
- Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
- Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room.
- Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Change the batteries in your smoke alarms and test them once a month.