STANWOOD – Nearly four years ago, the 6.8-magnitude Nisqually earthquake rattled the Warm Beach fire station, causing serious structural damage.
“It’s highly possible it could collapse if we had another large quake,” Fire District 14 Capt. Christian Davis said, adding the station doesn’t meet any updated emergency codes.
The district is hoping a new station will be finished late next year, replacing the old one built in 1964.
At 11,392 square feet, the new building will be more than twice the size of the existing station, which the district continues to use, Davis said.
The new building will be located about a half-mile north of the current site. It will have five bays to house district fire engines and vehicles, a water rescue boat and other equipment. It will have five bedrooms for the district’s six full-time and 30 volunteer firefighters and offices for administration.
Also, there will be a large community room the fire district will use for training, and residents can use for public meetings.
“All of this will be on ground level so it will be a lot more accessible than the old station,” Davis said.
The new station will become district headquarters. The old building and property will be sold.
The new building is expected to cost $1.8 million.
“Commissioners have saved up for it for the last 10 years,” Davis said. “This has been a decade in the making.”
The district covers about 52 square miles in the rural Stanwood area. Firefighters respond to about 1,300 calls a year.
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