SNOHOMISH — Snohomish Fire District 4 has plans that accelerate adding more firefighters. It discussed station replacement plans at last week’s fire board meeting.
Construction for its future Pine Avenue fire station is still set to start in the beginning of 2025, Fire Chief Don Waller said.
The first permit for Station 41 on Pine was applied for and initiated in July. Bid and construction documents for Station 41 and options for a full replacement of Station 43 on Avenue D will be started by September, with bids expected to go out in January 2025, Waller said.
It’s also actively hiring firefighters.
“The goal is to try to add four firefighters per year for the next five years,” Waller said by email. “The district is hiring four this month and will hire four to eight more by the end of 2024, with four to eight more tentatively planned for 2025. We are also waiting to hear about a grant for 12 firefighters. If the grant is awarded at the end of the year, that would change some of the plans for this year and the next few years.”
The designs for the replacements of Station 41 and Station 43 are approaching 80% completion.
Station 41 today is at 427 Maple Ave., but will be replaced with the future Pine Avenue station. Station 43 is on Avenue D and the district’s current headquarters.
It also wants to replace Station 42 in the Three Lakes area within the next 15 years. The station was built in 1995.
The cost for replacing all three facilities would be an estimated $56 million over 10 years, the agency said.
Constructing Station 41 on Pine will cost $30 million.
Other ideas include continuing with bidding as an option in the initial bid to determine the best path when bid documents are received.
