Vancouver’s two new fire stations will have everything a firefighter could want — except, perhaps, for a fire pole.
The city settled upon the fire station designs this month after engaging the public’s help in choosing a timeless Pacific Northwest/ U.S. Forest Service look with brick walls, sloping roofs, large windows and prominent beams. Designed by Mackenzie Engineering Inc. of Portland, the energy-efficient new stations will include apparatus bays, work rooms, living space with dorm rooms, a kitchen, day room, gym and an area for police to stop in to write reports.
“We’re really pleased with the way the exterior looks,” said Fire Chief Joe Molina, though he noted that the fire department’s primary interest is the operational features inside.
Construction on the $10 million project should begin in August and finish around August 2017, according to Jon Sears, the city’s capital projects manager. The price includes $6.9 million for design and construction and nearly $2.2 million for property acquisition. Both stations will be built simultaneously by the same contractor. The station replacement effort was made possible by the recent sale of surplus city properties and a funding plan started in 2013.
The city decided to relocate fire stations 1 and 2 to maximize efficient coverage for all four stations in the southwest part of town. Studies have indicated the two stations are too old and small to be remodeled and likely would collapse in a major earthquake.
Built in the 1960s, Station 1 at 900 W. Evergreen Blvd. will be rebuilt in Uptown Village at the corner of East Fourth Plain Boulevard and Main Street. The city acquired the roughly 1-acre site for $1.89 million.
“We hate to leave (Station 1) from a tradition perspective, but clearly, it’s outlived its usefulness,” Molina said.
Dating back to the 1930s, Station 2 at 400 E. 37th St. (near the Safeway on Main Street) will be rebuilt at East 20th Street and Norris Road, south of Fourth Plain Boulevard. The city is buying the 2-acre parcel from Vancouver Public Schools for $305,000. A building on the site will be demolished.
The stations will feature identical amenities inside, except Station 2 will feature a community room and battalion chief quarters. Because they’re one-story buildings, neither will have a fire pole. (For those keeping track, of the city’s 10 fire stations, Station 1 and Station 5 have fire poles.) Station 1 will be about 10,200 square feet, and Station 2 will be about 13,350 square feet. Both will be built to current seismic standards.
The city plans to sell the old fire stations and property, Molina said.
It would be ideal if the new fire stations’ grand opening could coincide with the Vancouver Fire Department’s 150th anniversary in 2017, he said. Few fire departments are as old as Vancouver’s, particularly in the Northwest, Molina said.
