New southwest station opens in Eagle Ridge Neighborhood
Brian Coddington, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 2:04 p.m.
The new Fire Station 5 will now provide 24-hour fire and emergency medical service to southwest Spokane.Round-the-clock service at Station 5, which opened earlier this year, officially began Monday afternoon.
“Fire and emergency medical coverage of southwest Spokane has been a major focus and we are so pleased to be able to enhance service to this area,” said Spokane Fire Department Chief Bobby Williams.
Calls for service have been growing in southwest Spokane, with medical calls accounting for 87 percent of total emergency calls city wide (including auto accidents). The station at 115 W. Eagle Ridge Blvd is placed at a central location to serve the Qualchan and Eagle Ridge neighborhoods in a more efficient, timely manner.
“We have constantly been looking for means to improve response times to this part of the City,” said Mayor David Condon. “In fact as recommended by the Fire Task Team, last year, we entered into a supplemental response agreement with a neighboring district, within 5 road miles of this area, to provide the opportunity to improve insurance rates for homeowners in southwest Spokane.”
Crews had been helping perform work on Fire Station 5 during the summer and served the area from Fire Station 11 until the station renovation was completed. Six firefighters working out of Station 5 are funded by a $2 million federal SAFER grant the city secured last year. The two additional firefighters needed to staff the station round-the-clock are being paid out of the existing Spokane Fire Department budget. Firefighters at Station 5 will operate as two-person units with firefighting capability.
Fire Station 5 is currently set up in a temporary location while a long-term solution is secured near the intersection of Highway 95 and Cheney Spokane Road.
