Fire station now staffed round the clock

Published 11:36 pm Tuesday, April 6, 2010

GRANITE FALLS — People living here and in Getchell finally will get full use of a fire station built almost 10 years ago.

Fire Station 86 is located between the two communities at 163rd Avenue NE and 84th Street NE. The station is part of Snohomish County Fire District 17, which serves Granite Falls, and near Snohomish County Fire District 22, serving Getchell.

Built for future growth almost 10 years ago, the station finally will be used to its full potential, Fire District 22 Chief Travis Hots said.

Growth has slowed here in recent years but it’s picking up again, Hots said. New neighborhoods are planned in both fire districts, and officials figured out a way to staff the station 24 hours a day at no additional cost.

Fire District 17 previously only had resources to keep the station open 7 a.m. through 7 p.m., interim Fire Chief Jim Haverfield said.

The two districts’ officials shuffled schedules, personnel and equipment to make round-the-clock coverage work.

The agreement kicked in Thursday. The fire districts are taking turns providing an aid car and a fire engine for the station, staffed with a firefighter-medic from each district, Hots said.

Emergency response times in both districts are expected to improve with the new agreement.

Budget cutbacks have forced many smaller fire districts to consider such partnerships, Hots said.

“We always have relied on each other a great deal, and we are taking that to the next level,” he said.

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.