The Chehalis Fire Station has not been occupied by the city fire department since August.
An article that ran last week in The Chronicle was, according to firefighter Kevin Reynolds, how the rank-and-file members of the Chehalis Fire Department found out they would not return to the historic downtown fire station.
Reynolds, who serves as union president for International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2510, claims city officials have failed to keep the firefighters in the loop as plans have taken shape to vacate the 90-year-old station at 455 NW Park St. and house the department at Lewis County Fire District 6 headquarters just south of Chehalis until a new station can be built.
“This, in my opinion, is a complete abandonment of the effort to get us back on track,” Reynolds said. “It’s to the point where it’s about how it costs us the least amount of money. The city has already said they don’t have a budget or plan for a new fire department. They haven’t budgeted for this and it’s their attempt to take the cheaper way out.”
City Manager Jill Anderson and Fire Chief Ken Cardinale deny Reynolds’ claim of being kept in the dark. The Chehalis Fire Department first evacuated its building in August due to asbestos found during efforts to renovate the building and has been headquartered with Fire District 6 at 2123 Jackson Hwy. ever since.
Both administrators recall Anderson giving a detailed presentation to union members — everyone but Cardinale and his secretary, according to Reynolds — in November stating the most likely course of action was going to be staying where they’re at for the foreseeable future, likely at least a few years.
Anderson remembered spending at least three hours meeting with Chehalis Fire Department staff on Nov. 19, where she toured the building and gave a Powerpoint presentation outlining why it would be her recommendation to the city council that the fire department not move back into the downtown station.
“(Anderson) told the whole union what the reasons were they couldn’t move back to the station,” Cardinale said. “The firefighters were given previous indications by me that they would not be moving back, but it wasn’t my call. I told them it was a very remote possibility. For (Reynolds) to say he just read it in the paper, I don’t think from my perspective that it’s an accurate statement.”
Any official direction regarding the future of the Chehalis fire station would need to come from members of the city council. Representatives from the two agencies are in the process of negotiating a long-term lease agreement for Chehalis to continue rooming with Fire District 6. The city currently pays $1,400 per month in rent based on an agreement reached in the immediate aftermath of the asbestos situation.
Anderson cited cost as the main reason why the city is unable to extend the life of its station for a few more years while it ramps up efforts to build a new one. She said one of the fixes recommended in an engineering report commissioned in 2017 was to complete seismic upgrades, but the roof of the building would not be able to handle the load brought on by attaching it to the walls.
Building an interim fire station between the Walmart and Home Depot by the Chehalis-Centralia Airport was discussed at one point, but firefighters objected due to concerns about flooding and access to their coverage area.
“Every time we’ve tried to do something in the current building, something else comes up,” Anderson said.
The financial picture wasn’t the only area of concern raised by Reynolds on behalf of the firefighters. He claims that while average response times for the department have only risen slightly since the move to Fire District 6, callers on the north end of Chehalis have waited an additional 5-6 minutes, nearly doubling the response time for that area.
Reynolds feels as though the impact of being where they are now has been undersold to the general public.
“Ultimately, it’s going to impact the city’s insurance rating if we’re there for an extended period of time,” Reynolds said. “More than that, it could cost someone their home, maybe a life, and as a group we’re not going to be okay with that.”
Anderson said she’s spoken with members of both departments, including both fire chiefs, about addressing the need for more storage space and improving technological efficiencies if both agencies will be sharing a station. She has a meeting scheduled with IAFF members next week to continue those conversations.
She stressed that while there have been no final decisions made regarding the future of the Chehalis Fire Department, she did not see the benefit of getting into a public back-and-forth while the situation continues to be addressed.
“I’m disappointed in how they’ve taken the information,” Anderson said. “In terms of it being a surprise, that part is somewhat shocking to me. … The conditions of the building have dictated the situations and decisions made. Complicating the process has been the fact that there are not a lot of good options, but between Chief Cardinale and myself, we’ve been keeping (the firefighters) informed.”
