Residents of Fire District 41 are invited to have a cup of coffee with Kirkland Fire Chief Kevin Nalder and learn more about how the planned new fire station will improve service, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at the Finn Hill QFC, 14130 Juanita Dr. N.E.

Saturday’s Coffee with the Chief is the first of several public appearances being scheduled for Nalder in the next few weeks to make it easier for people to ask questions about the new fire station.

Nalder’s public availabilities are part of the extended public process by Fire District 41 commissioners in response to comments made at a March public meeting. Commissioners are also negotiating an interlocal agreement with the City of Kirkland to continue the public process after annexation June 1 and still preserve Finn Hill residents’ ability to build the long-planned fire station.

The new fire station would be strategically located so that it reduces response times to the greatest number of people in the service area. The two current stations are not well-located to serve the northern part of Finn Hill. National experts have determined target response times based on the experience that a fire reaches the “flash over” point of full combustion within the first eight minutes of starting, and brain damage or death starts at four to six minutes for a person without oxygen.

Learn more about the planned new Finn Hill fire station at the Fire District 41 Web page: www.kirklandwa.gov/fd41.