By Luisa Loi
Special to the News-Times
North Whidbey Fire and Rescue is in the process of purchasing a property to build a new training facility and a fire station.
Tuesday, the board of commissioners voted unanimously to move forward with the purchase of the 9.39-acre timberland, which is owned by the Department of Transportation.
The property is located on Ault Field Road, next to the Island County Road Shop, according to Chief Chris Swiger. It comes with a price tag of $410,000, a cost the fire department will cover with reserve funds, he said.
Swiger said it was initially unclear who owned the land, something the state didn’t seem to know either. After finally confirming that it belonged to the state Department of Transportation, the department inquired and is now optimistic about finalizing the deal — likely this fall.
The plan is to close and sell Station 25, located at 2720 Heller Road, and develop the new property to build a new Station 25 to move the administrative offices into, Swiger said.
“Hopefully within three to five years we can get a fire station put on it,” he said.
While a design and timeline still need to be discussed, a new training facility might be added at the same time or later on, Swiger said. The department would need to get a bond approved, he said, adding that the board and the chiefs are already discussing potentially going out for a levy to fund staff increases or equipment, or both.
“Right now, I couldn’t even tell you how much we would have to go out for, with the prices of everything fluctuating so much,” Swiger said.
The current Station 25 was built in the 1960s and served various purposes over the years until the department purchased it in 1992 and turned it into a fire station, adding some features to accommodate fire engines and other equipment, he said.
At one point it even housed the department’s headquarters, which are now located in the building at 770 Northeast Midway Boulevard in Oak Harbor. Now, Station 25 continues to serve as a fire station and the place where the board meets the second Tuesday of every month, but it’s “in pretty bad shape,” Swiger said, adding that the land might be worth much more than the structures themselves.
Over the past few years, the department has been training on a property on Schay Road, off North Oak Harbor Road. The training facility consists of shipping containers and has been used by North Whidbey Fire, as well as the Navy and the Oak Harbor fire departments, Swiger said.
While it’s “a good facility for what it is,” he said, he would like to have a better location to practice a greater variety of emergency scenarios.
The fire department is also talking about developing the property on Van Dam Road, which consists of two parcels that were purchased in 2009, Swiger said. Whether they decide to build a pole barn for storage or a new fire station, they would need to spend anywhere from $700,000 to $5 million, he estimated.
The Van Dam property is currently undeveloped, except for a well, according to Swiger. There, according to Battalion Chief Jobie Gause, the department plans to conduct a fire training in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources on May 25.
While there hasn’t been a need to use the Van Dam parcels due to their proximity to Fire Station 26 on 1817 Zylstra Road, it could be used to house equipment as the department might need to make room for an ambulance that was recently purchased for $10,000 and that is being outfitted for a contract with WhidbeyHealth, Swiger said.
