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Brandon Curriston The Daily Barometer Chris Hunt, Mike Maldonado and Steve Delmore eagerly await the construction of a fifth city fire station in northwest Corvallis. [Click to enlarge]

A fast-growing northwest Corvallis population and reasonable building costs convinced city leaders to approve the construction of a fifth fire station.

The new station, which was decided on in August 2003, will be located at N.W. Walnut Boulevard.

While this project was only recently approved it's been in the making for more than 10 years.

In 1990, a master plan, completed for the fire department and approved by the city council, identified the need for a new station in the northwest and south parts of town.

Plans for the northwest station were put on hold while the Tunison station was built in south Corvallis in 1993.

"Both the downtown and Tunison stations were built with no debt," said mayor Helen Berg.

"Our forebearers made sure we would always have money for fire protection."

This guarantee for money came in the form of a millage rate, a percentage of assessed land value, until the passing of Measures 47 and 50 eliminated the tax.

"The money in the bank wasn't earning as much interest," Berg said, "and the cost to build was going up."

Despite the money woes, the community continued to grow, increasing the number of emergency calls from 3,915 in 1992 to 5,209 calls in 2002 -- a 33 percent increase -- while staff levels remained constant.

According to Corvallis fire chief Dan Campbell, response time for the Corvallis Fire Department also increased between 1992-2002 from four minutes to 5.9 minutes.

"The National Fire Protection Associations 1710 Standard says that crews should reach 90 percent of calls within four minutes," Campbell explained.

It was determined last year that starting the northwest station project would help to prevent the further erosion of funds and would enable the city to take advantage of lower construction costs.

"The entire project was originally given a 240-day construct period," Campbell said. "It has stayed mostly on schedule."

Phase One, the installation of a roadway leading immediately past the intersection of the driveway to the station, has been completed.

Currently under way is Phase Two, construction of the two-story building that will consist of a downstairs area for the emergency equipment, a community center to be used for fire staff classroom training and public meetings as well as an upstairs crew quarters.

The project is slated for completion in April, but the issue of staffing the new station is still under debate.

"Corvallis fire and medic staff work on a three-shift operation," Campbell explained.

"Three people work for 24 hours, then have 48 hours off. In total, nine paid staff members will be employed at the station, along with about six volunteers."

According to Campbell, the cost to staff, equip and operate the station is projected to be $798,000 annually, plus $498,000 in the first year for start-up costs, including vehicle purchases.

The city council is still evaluating ways to fund the station and crew.

"It's tough," he said. "Nobody has excess money. This is definitely an add-on to service.

"Still, we have received good support from the community, and our crews are committed to doing the best they can."

Berg says community members should attend budget meetings to get a better idea of what funding issues are facing the city and fire department.

"Tell them what's important to you as OSU students and Corvallis residents," she says.

Karri Pasteris is a staff writer for The Daily Barometer. She can be reached at baro.city@studentmedia.orst.edu.

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