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Seattle Fire Department Public Education and Fire Safety Records, 1980-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.). Fire Dept.
Title
Seattle Fire Department Public Education and Fire Safety Records
Dates
1980-1995 (inclusive)
Quantity
4.0 cubic feet, (10 boxes)
Collection Number
2810-06
Summary
Records from the Fire Marshal's office of the Seattle Fire Department relating to public education and fire safety.
Repository
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov
Access Restrictions

Records are open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for processing this record series was provided through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
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Historical Note

A Fire Department was established by City Charter in 1883. It provided for equipment purchases, but not for hiring of firefighters. Following the Great Fire of 1889, a professional fire department was created with five district fire stations and purchase of a fire boat. The first Fire Chief of the professional department was Gardner Kellogg who served 1890-1892 and 1895-1901. A Board of Fire Commissioners was established by the 1890 City Charter to prescribe rules and regulations for the Department. The Board's responsibilities included enforcing rules violations, and appointing the Fire Chief and all subordinate officers. The Board was abolished with passage of a new City Charter in 1896. The position of Fire Marshal was established in 1901 with responsibility for inspecting buildings to insure they were in compliance the ordinances related to building construction and fire protection. The Fire Marshal also inspects all fires and reports on the causes. The Department's mission is to curtail loss of life and property by fire through inspection and certification of building safety systems, public education, regulation of hazardous material storage, and fire suppression.

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Content Description

Records from the Fire Marshal's office of the Seattle Fire Department relating to public education and fire safety. The series contains information on public and school fire safety education such as the School and Fire-Safe Education (S. A. F. E.) program, Change Your Clock campaign, Fire Prevention Week, and a smoke detector program aimed at providing equipment for low income residents. Correspondence and memoranda related to the activities of the Public Education Supervisor, Diane Shirk, are included in the series, as are residential fire statistics from 1981-1987, and incomplete monthly, quarterly and annual budget reports for 1980-1994.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle Fire Department Public Education and Fire Safety Records, Record Series 2810-06. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in four subseries: Correspondence, Events and Programs, Reports, and Miscellaneous. The series are described more fully below.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Fire detectors--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Fire prevention--Washington (State)--Seattle

Personal Names

  • Shirk, Diane

Corporate Names

  • Seattle (Wash.). Fire Dept.
  • Seattle (Wash.). Fire Marshal

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.).

Finding aid prepared by Linnet Blumenthal
2010

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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