Vehicles outside the Chehalis Fire Department sit inside a fenced-off perimeter in August 2018 after asbestos testing registered trace amounts of exposure in the building, enough to require the city to hire a licensed contractor to address the contamination.
In 2016, Chehalis Fire Chief Ken Cardinale shows areas of the Chehalis Fire Department that were scheduled to be repaired in 2017. The department is now sharing space with Lewis County Fire District 6 and does not plan to move back into the historic structure.
The last fire truck has left the fire station in downtown Chehalis, bringing a close to more than nine decades of public safety operations at 455 NW Park St.
Negotiations are ongoing between the city and Lewis County Fire District 6 for an update to the arrangement that has allowed Chehalis fire department staff and equipment to use Fire District 6 headquarters at 2123 Jackson Hwy. since August.
Asbestos abatement work at the Chehalis station wrapped up in September, but the fire department never moved back into the building. All of the department’s vehicles, equipment, and staff are now housed at the District 6.
A formal lease agreement between the two agencies is expected to take shape in the coming months. Fire District 6 officials are able to perform cost-analysis studies to evaluate the expense of housing Chehalis firefighters until the city can construct a permanent solution.
“The first phase of it was just an emergency sort of thing,” Chehalis Fire Chief Ken Cardinale said. “Right now, we’re planning to be there until the new (fire) station is built, which could take a few years, or a bit longer. They’ve been awesome neighbors to us, but wanted the chance to look at costs and come up with a more accurate figure for a longer-term agreement.”
Cardinale referred questions regarding the decision to vacate the downtown station to City Manager Jill Anderson. She did not return calls seeking comment prior to press time.
Fire District 6 commissioners were expected to vote Tuesday on an action item related to a lease with Chehalis, but chose to table it until next month. Officials from both entities are scheduled to meet next in March.
The agencies often rely on each other via mutual aid agreements and other cooperative incident responses in and around Chehalis. Long-running exploration of a potential merger of the two bodies, similar to when Riverside Fire Authority and Fire District 12 joined forces a decade ago, also remains an option.
District 6 Chief Tim Kinder said Wednesday that a positive aspect of the situation has been increased cohesion and chemistry between the two fire departments.
“One of the big pluses we’ve seen so far in working this closely and coming from the same house is that the teams are starting to work more fruitfully and efficiently,” Kinder said. “They’re doing a great job of bouncing back and forth, covering each other and taking care of citizens to the best of their ability.”
Cardinale cautioned that, while working in close proximity has been useful, the only way a merger could happen is if the finances support it. County fire districts and city fire departments are funded by two different tax structures.
He and Chehalis Mayor Dennis Dawes believe a merger would better serve the public both in service and cost. Though a joining of forces would have an impact on the scope and use of a new fire station in Chehalis, one that will almost certainly not be downtown, the city expects to move the project forward before knowing the outcome of merger talks.
“We’re still looking at a 3-5 year process to get the station built,” Cardinale said. “We can’t continue to kick the can down the road and we have to build a new fire station whether or not a merger occurs, but we also need to be looking at where we put it in case a merger does happen. … Downtown Chehalis is not an advantageous location for growth, nor can it support a new, modern fire station. If they took a bulldozer to Station 48 (on Park Street), the lot isn’t big enough. It was there for nearly 100 years, and the next one might be used for nearly another 100 years.”
Cardinale explained that new fire stations in Washington are considered “essential facilities,” meaning they have to meet more stringent building codes. A new station would also need a tarmac to allow for apparatus checks of fire vehicles, equipment and training, which Station 48 does not have.
How long it takes to build a new station will depend largely on what the city determines to be the most agreeable source of funding and how long it takes for it to acquire the needed land.
“We need to look at what we need to do and what it’s going to cost,” Dawes said. “That would give us an idea of what the timeframe will be on the lease (with Fire District 6). “If it looks like it’s not the time to do it right now, then we’ll need a period of time. But we’re looking at all options to cover every contingency out there. What it ultimately ends up to, I don’t know right now.”
