Kennewick Fire Station 1 Nearly Complete

The Kennewick Fire Department is expected to move into the new Fire Station 1 building in a couple months.

"And that will replace the fire station that I'm currently at over at 600 Auburn Street. The new building will be off of 10th Avenue." Fire Chief Chad Michael said.

The building between Dayton and Auburn Streets, which is in the final stages of construction, is expected to open in August or September.

It's part of a larger effort to ensure fire department facilities are in place over the next 50 years.

Since 2015, Fire Station 5 has been added and two 50-year-old buildings, Fire Station 1 and Fire Station 3, have been replaced.

"When we looked at them, we evaluated, do we remodel? Or do we start over? For the amount of money we had to invest, and what we had to work with, it was a better decision to construct new facilities." Chief Michael added.

Kennewick Fire Department's reasons for new facilities:

Aging facilities reaching the end of their useful lifespan.
The need for modern technology such as station alerting systems and video conferencing.
Facilities for a modern workforce such as separate and private sleeping rooms for men and women and gender-neutral restrooms.

Chief Michaels says he appreciates the support and positive feedback from the community on the projects. He's also grateful for the tremendous amount of help from many other departments within the City of Kennewick that made the projects possible (Public Works, Planning, Building, the City Attorney's Office and the City Manager).