Seismic upgrades underway at station

A remodel of the Country Club Fire Station has begun.

The station is undergoing a seismic upgrade and remodel. Built in the 1970s, it is vulnerable to earthquakes, said Camano Island Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Ganz.

The remodel will allow it to better house its 24-hour crew, he said.

During construction, the crews normally stationed at the County Club have been moved to temporary facilities. One fire engine and crew is stationed at a rented house in the Lost Lake area and a medic unit is stationed at Camano Hill Road and West Camano Drive.

The crews will likely be there until construction is complete in December.

The Country Club station project is one of the first tier of projects Camano Island Fire and Rescue pledged to complete when voters passed a $10 million bond in 2007.

In addition to the Country Club remodel, the projects include a new fire station in the northwest part of the island, a remodel and seismic upgrade of the Terry's Corner Fire Station, and a new water tank and water tender for the south end Mabana Fire Station.

The district hopes to have 50 percent of the first tier projects finished by December 2010, and the rest completed by December 2011.

In the last several years, the district has worked on decreasing its response times, Ganz said.

"Fires double in size every five minutes," he said.

Both the south end and northwest portions of the island are a cause for concern in terms of response times, Ganz said. Response time can be around 10 to 14 minutes.

The County Club is the district's central location. If a crew is already out on a call, it can lengthen the response time for other calls, Ganz said..

The southern most Mabana station is operated entirely by volunteers, Ganz said. Daytime volunteers are difficult to find.

The new Madrona station, at Vista and West Camano Drive, is out to bid.

A new tender, which can carry 2,500 gallons of water and is replacing the oldest tender in the district's fleet, should be delivered after Jan. 1. The tenders bring water to sites on the south end that may not have access to fire hydrants.

Currently, the district is examining the bids it received for a water tank. Ganz said they hope to have it finished by mid-October.

Camano Island Fire and Rescue is also going after federal money to fund a seismic upgrade of the Terry's Corner Fire Station. The department is applying for a hazard mitigation grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Mike Simmons, emergency manager for Stanwood Camano Fire and Rescue.

Terry's Corner station was built in the 1970s. A seismic engineer identified the need for a seismic upgrade of the station, which could cost around $367,000.

If the project is selected, the federal government will pay up to 75 percent of the seismic upgrade cost, Simmons said.

Money from the state could cover half of the local cost, lowering the fire district's responsibility to 12.5 percent.

The grant would not cover the remodel aspect of the project. For example, the seismic retrofit would put in sheer walls in the bay to make the area more resistant to earth quakes, Ganz said. However, the remodel would add an exhaust extrication system to capture diesel fumes, which would not be covered by the grant. Research has shown that particulates in the exhaust cause cancer.

The district will do the seismic upgrade of the Terry's Corner Fire Station whether or not it receives the grant, Ganz said.

To do the seismic upgrade, the building will be stripped to the walls and frame, Simmons said.

The remodels of the County Club and Terry's Corner stations will reallocate space to better allow for 24/7 crews, Ganz said.

"All of our stations were built for an all volunteer force," he said.

The district did not have crews stationed at Terry's Corner 24-hours a day until it moved administration to the former Camano Properties building, but did have crews at the County Club station 24-hours a day.

Originally, the district planned to remodel the Terry's Corner Fire Station to allow for 24-hours a day staffing and administration, Ganz said. However, due to a wetland buffer, the district was unable to expand the building's footprint. The building also has septic issues. It would be costprohibitive to build a new station at Terry's Corner, he said. They looked at building just an administration building, but the construction costs, traffic and feasibility studies, and other expenses associated with building a new public building made it unrealistic.

Buying an already built commercial building saved the district between $500,000 to $1 million, Ganz said. The Camano Properties building cost $1.4 million,

The district always planned to use grant money and sell property to extend the bond to cover all of the first tier projects, Ganz said.