Fire district gets more elbow room in Lake Stevens

LAKE STEVENS — The fire department here showed off its new administrative campus during an open house last month.

Lake Stevens Fire District 8 welcomed the public Jan. 26 to officially celebrate the opening of its new administrative campus, located at the northeast corner of S. Lake Stevens Road and 20th Street SE.

“It’s nice to finally have some room,” spokeswoman Laana Larson said.

The campus is about 19,000 square feet and includes headquarters and a conference center.

Officials have been working out of the new offices since fall. With the fire district moving administrative offices out of the Chapel Hill Fire Station, everybody got much-needed space, Larson said.

The purchase cost the fire district $4.5 million including furniture, paid for by part of a levy voters approved in 2006. Officials estimate it will cost about $100,000 each year to maintain the buildings. Still, the purchase means savings for the fire department, Larson said.

During the open house, fire officials led people to tour the buildings.

The administration building houses offices, fire commissioners’ board room and space for training. The professional building also includes office space.

Some offices stand empty as the campus is designed to account for future growth, Larson said.

The fire department plans to hire a public educator in the near future, maybe even this year, she said.

A conference center for 120 people is available for rent by the community. There also is an emergency operations center, equipped with technology to help ensure efficient response in case of disaster.

“We really like being in the new building,” Larson said. “It was a huge savings for us.”

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