By FireRescue1 Staff
SEATTLE — Firefighters are speaking out against proposed budget cuts that would put an end to cleaning up unauthorized homeless camps.
KING5 reported that Seattle Firefighters Union President Kenny Stuart wrote a letter to councilmember Kshama Sawant to express their opposition to the budget cuts.
“Needle sticks, exposure to biohazard and contaminants, and assault are serious issues that our firefighters face at unauthorized encampments every day,” Stuart said in the letter.
Stuart added that the “proposal to restrict the City from appropriately addressing unauthorized encampments on public land creates a substantial hazard for firefighters and, in our opinion, would lead to greater medical and fire emergencies for our most vulnerable residents.”
The 2018 city budget included a proviso by Sawant that ends camp clean-ups until the city can ensure the “human rights of unauthorized encampment inhabitants.”
A navigation team was launched in July that includes social workers and police officers who remove unauthorized camps and provide residents with safe housing and mental health care.
You can read the full letter below.
Seattle Firefighters Union Letter to Councilmember Sawant by Ed Praetorian on Scribd