Seattle Fire Department bans the term "brownout" to describe understaffing

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The chief of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) is banning the term “brown out” to describe unstaffed units. He implies the term is racist.

According to a June 13 memo, obtained by the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH, chief Harold Scoggins said the SFD “will no longer use the term ‘brown out’ when describing department apparatus that aren’t in service.” The department will use the term “units unstaffed” moving forward.

The term “brown out” means a portion of the total staffing, such as a medical unit, is offline. After the city sidelined unvaccinated firefighters, units have routinely gone unstaffed.

Citing unspecified “concerns,” Scoggins claims the term is offensive to communities of color

Last Edited by beeches on 06/15/2022 08:01 AM