City considers several sites for new north Kirkland fire station

The Kirkland City Council will consider two possible options and several possible sites for a new fire station at its Nov. 18 meeting. The new station would either replace Fire Station 24 or replace both Station 24 and 25, depending on which option the council chooses.

By TJ Martinell • November 3, 2014 4:58 pm
The maps above show response times by fire department personnel in various areas of Kirkland. The differences between the maps are seen in the Finn Hill and Juanita neighborhoods of Kirkland. Top left
The maps above show response times by fire department personnel in various areas of Kirkland. The differences between the maps are seen in the Finn Hill and Juanita neighborhoods of Kirkland. Top left

Correction: In a previous article the Reporter stated that the city had chosen the dual station option and narrowed possible sites to two properties. In fact, the City Council has expressed its support for a dual station provided that an appropriate site is identified and it will be considering several sites at its Nov. 18 meeting. The article also mentioned the first site would cost $6.7 million to purchase, while the second site would cost approximately $7.8 million. These figures represented the estimated cost to purchase and develop the property, as well as construct the station, albeit the city has only an estimate of the purchase price. These figures did not include design, engineering, permitting and other “soft costs.”

The Kirkland City Council will consider two possible options and several possible sites for a new fire station at its Nov. 18 meeting. The new station would either replace Fire Station 24 or replace both Station 24 and 25, depending on which option the council chooses.

The first option is to consolidate both fire stations into one. The other option would construct a new building for Station 24 and leave Station 25, located at 12033 76th Pl NE, as is, redeploying existing staff to run both stations. At the moment, Station 24 is run by volunteer emergency medical technicians between 7 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.

In 2004, King County Fire District 41 first started planning on a consolidation project to combine the two fire stations. The fire district initially looked into placing the fire station in Big Finn Hill Park, but the possible move sparked a backlash from residents and was opposed by the then Denny Creek Neighborhood Association.

After the annexation, the city looked into 20 possible sites to place the consolidated station, but later suspended the process in order to wait for the findings in the 2013 Fire Strategic Plan. The plan, according to a July 2014 city memo, noted several response time gaps, particularly in North Finn Hill.