Benton County Fire District 4 considers bond to build new station

Benton County Fire District 4 holds an informational meeting Thursday evening to talk to residents about a proposed plan to add a 20 year, $7.5 million dollar bond on an upcoming ballot.

The money would be used to build a new fire station in the western part of the district to cut down on response times and save more lives.

At 10 minutes, they're biologically dead, which means it's pretty hard to come back from that. At 6 minutes we can do somethings that can change the outcome, reviving a patient. After 10 minutes, it gets really tough," says Chief Bill Whaelen. He says right now it takes 17 minutes to get the farthest reaches of the district.

Distance is just one of the challenges facing District 4. They've seen a 62% increase in call volume since 2010 as more homes are being built in the western portion of Benton County.

"Seventeen minutes to get to a patient is, to me, quite extreme," Whalen said. "We want to try and reduce that substantially by having another station in the area, as well as equipment for that station."

To build that station, the district is considering placing a bond on an upcoming ballot. Their current proposal being considered would add 28 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value to property taxes.

They're holding some informational meetings to get feedback from the community on the proposed bond measures:

• March 22nd, 6 p.m. at Station 420 (2604 Bombing Range Road, West Richland)
• April 5th, 6 p.m. at Station 420 (2604 Bombing Range Road, West Richland)

The district will hold a follow-up meeting April 19th at 6 p.m. at Station 420 after the Board of Fire Commissioners decides whether to submit the bond proposal to voters.