A Seattle woman says 13 firefighters took turns doing CPR on her for an hour, and now she’s ‘raged’ that their department could lose $7 million

A Seattle woman who posts on TikTok as Hellcat Hysteria (hellcathysteria) recently had a life-changing week. She took to her platform to share that she had suffered cardiac arrest as a complication of pneumonia. One post she uploaded after getting home went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views, because of her anger over proposed funding cuts to the fire department that saved her life.

“Hey, so like I died on Monday,” she said in her video, as she sat by her fire escape. “I suffered a cardiac arrest, and the first thing I find out when I get home now out of the hospital is that Seattle Fire might lose $7 million in funding.” She then laid out how serious her situation was, sharing, “13 different firemen took two-minute turns giving me compressions for an hour and saved my life. I had no pulse. They saved me.” Bluntly, she added, “I think they deserve their f—ing funding. And I’m now… I’m raged.”

According to My Northwest, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson cut $7 million in overtime funding for the Seattle Fire Department from her proposed 2027-28 budget. Kenny Stuart, the SFD union spokesperson, and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins have called the move dangerous, since it affects how many firefighters are available at any time. About a decade ago, the city opted to hire fewer firefighters and use overtime to cover gaps as a way to save on benefits.

Fire officials say the cut could slow response times

“If this budget takes effect, people will wait longer for help when they call 911 during an emergency,” Stuart told My Northwest. Scoggins shared a similar concern, saying, “We cannot afford to create any delay.”

The outlet noted that the overtime funding helps the department maintain staffing for fire and medical emergencies. It also supports Seattle Fire’s Health One program, which responds to mental and behavioral health crises and other social service needs, as well as Health 99, which responds to overdoses.

To address these concerns, Councilmember Maritza Rivera has submitted a budget amendment to the City Council, My Northwest reported. The goal is to restore the funding so that service gaps can be avoided and response times kept stable.

Mayor Wilson’s office, however, stands by the proposal, describing it as a necessary step to address a $175 million structural deficit. A spokesperson for the mayor said the proposal still maintains core services, that the overtime reduction is about 2% of the emergency response services’ total budget, and that improved staffing plans can ensure adequate coverage. The public can provide input at a hearing on Nov. 5.

Seattle isn’t the only big city weighing tough budget choices, with New York’s mayor saying he pulled NYC back from a fiscal brink in his first budget.

Hellcat’s post didn’t spark much debate about the funding itself, but one Seattle property owner said her situation is “one of the reasons that I don’t mind paying my taxes.” Many first responders flooded her comments to celebrate her “INSANE” recovery. One commenter who said they were a paramedic claimed that fewer than 10% of cardiac arrest patients can move around as freely after an incident like hers.

Others responded to how long her CPR lasted, with some sharing that similar persistence kept them alive. When someone asked about the state of her ribs, she said, “I can’t lay down. I can’t sit. I can only stand and I’m exhausted.” Still, as she noted in her post, “I have now become a fireman advocate.”