Construction is making steady progress in Napavine as crews put the roof on Lewis County Fire District 5's new apparatus bay earlier this week.
The fire district that calls Napavine home broke ground on its new apparatus bay in May and is well on its way to a finished product.
The new building has popped up relatively quickly since racing against the clock to finish on time. During the groundbreaking event, project manager and former Fire Chief Gregg Peterson said the team hoped to have the building finished by the end of the year.
Peterson added that, with the new roof, the site will be able to dry out and teams will begin to make progress on the interior. Parts and pieces for the interior, such as doors, are set to begin arriving soon.
Part of the speedy construction is likely the nature of the pre-manufactured facility. Parts for the building began arriving in August, prompting a fall construction period that is now underway.
When finished, the facility will have three doors to the apparatus bays, which will house an engine tender, a paramedic unit and an aid car in addition to other vehicles. The new building will have bathrooms, showers, a gear room, separate secure equipment and medical storage rooms and a fitness room.
The new building is going up next to the station and across the street from the district's current apparatus bay facility. That location is part of what prompted the new building, as local fire officials highlighted that having the building across the street slowed response times.
The new building will let firefighters cut a minute-and-a-half off of every response to a 911 call.
“That doesn’t seem like a great deal of time in a call, but … we’ll probably go out 1,400 times this year on calls — 1,400 times a minute-and-a-half comes to 35 hours of time that is lost responding to 911 calls, because we have to cross the street to get to the truck,” Peterson told The Chronicle last May.
District 5’s current fire apparatus bay is located at 105 Second Ave. NE, while the fire station is located across the street at 115 E. Washington St., meaning firefighters have to cross the street every time they’re dispatched — even in dangerous traffic or winter weather conditions.
“This winter, we’ll be able to walk right next door, get in the rigs, go out and be much safer,” Peterson said in May.
The effort was truly put in motion after state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Chehalis, in his role on the Washington state House of Representatives Capitol Budget Committee, secured $2 million from the state for the project. According to reporting from The Chronicle, during the site's groundbreaking, officials said the facility was expected to cost roughly $1.3 million.
Peterson said that, thanks to the company contracted for the project, the construction is under budget and on schedule to be completed early next year. According to Peterson, the facilities should be ready for occupancy in February.
“We’re really happy with the relationship we have with MDK Construction,” Peterson said. “We are well within what we consider under budget.”
