Clark County Fire District 10 in Washington is asking voters to approve a $15.2 million bond measure to replace its aging Amboy fire station, which officials say no longer meets the operational demands of a growing emergency response agency.
The measure, appearing on Tuesday’s primary ballot, would fund construction of a replacement station for District 10’s headquarters at Station 101 in Amboy. If approved, homeowners would pay 45 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, equivalent to about $292 a year for a home assessed at $650,000, according to Deputy Fire Chief Galen Sarkinen. The bonds would be repaid over 20 years.
The existing station was built in the early 1960s and occupied in 1963, when the district had 13 volunteers. Today, the mostly volunteer fire district has 67 firefighters and a much larger emergency workload.
Fire Chief Gordon Brooks said the district responded to about 150 calls a year when he started in 1988. Last year, District 10 handled 1,043 calls, reflecting population growth and increasing demand across the service area.
Sarkinen said the 63-year-old station has been remodeled several times, but the recent discovery of asbestos means a renovation would require tearing down the entire building.
The station also sustained major wall damage during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake and faces increasing space constraints as modern fire apparatus have grown larger. Officials said newer engines can now barely fit inside the station.
Officials say the building is also too cramped for the number of firefighters now working there, with some sleeping areas created from spaces never intended for personnel use.
“One of the bedrooms is technically a server room, so people tend to avoid that because of the heat that comes off the servers,” Sarkinen said. “We try to make do with less.”
Sarkinen said district leaders recognize the financial pressure on residents, but believe the current facility cannot continue to meet the community’s needs indefinitely.
“Most of our staff are taxpayers in the district, and as community members we know this is a big ask,” Sarkinen said. “Somebody told me once, ‘The best time to buy a house is always 10 years ago.’”
