From left, Woodland City Councilor Benjamin Fredricks, incoming Councilor Janice Graham, outgoing Councilor Marilee McCall, Councilor Susan Humbyrd, Woodland Mayor Will Finn, Clark County Fire and Rescue Chief John Nohr and CCF&R Commissioners Bob Johnson, Jerry Kolke, Dave Lester, Larry Bartel, Ken Ayers and John Babcock ceremonially uncouple a fire house at the dedication of Clark County Fire and Rescue’s Station 29 in Woodland Dec. 20.
Clark County Fire and Rescue’s brand-new Station 29 as seen from East Scott Avenue on Dec. 20. The station had an official dedication on that day, capping off years of work to have centralized public safety resources in the city.
Public safety in Woodland is now more centralized as the East Scott Avenue fire station was officially dedicated last week.
On Dec. 20 Clark County Fire and Rescue officials and firefighters along with city leaders took a spin on the standard ribbon-cutting, instead going with an uncoupling of a fire hose to announce the station’s official dedication.
Breaking ground earlier this year, the station — dubbed Station 29 by the department — has been decades in the making. CCF&R division chief Mike Jackson said the land the station sits on was acquired back in 1997 with the vision of a sort of public safety complex, with police and fire service in the same location.
The police station came in 2013, and in November of 2016 the Woodland City Council gave the OK for the fire district to accept a roughly $1.3 million bid for the facility. The brand-new station will replace the beleaguered Davidson Street station, providing a better-located and better-equipped spot for the department to work.
Outgoing Woodland City Councilor Marilee McCall recounted how when she got on council in 2006 having a public safety center was still a dream. Now both fire and police are in the same area and in facilities far superior to the old downtown locations for both.
Public safety has been a major focus for McCall during her tenure, recounting a house fire call that she had the opportunity to ride along with firefighters. That experience put the needs of public safety at the forefront of her work as a councilor.
“I was hooked on making sure that you have what you needed, and any time I made a decision for either police or fire, it’s been with the idea in mind that … this is what I want for my son, my daughter, my brother or my sister to be able to have to be safe,” McCall said.
Outgoing CCF&R Commissioner Jerry Kolke commented that the new station fit in with a change of direction at the department made with the hiring of current Chief John Nohr in 2016. He commented on a 25-year contract the city has with the department as part of the partnership, adding the contract fit in with the district’s own strategic plan.
“A fire station is a critical component of community safety,” Nohr said.
Of the amenities that the station touts, ironically the installation of a fire suppression system was chief among what Nohr touched on. He said that there had been several departments in the Portland metro that have lost their stations due to a fire apparatus catching on fire; with the sprinkler system the station will be safe if they have to handle their own fire.
Firefighters were already in action prior to the dedication, as just before the event was scheduled to begin, a call for assistance on a medical emergency had firefighters sent out to help. When the station is finally complete in the coming weeks equipment currently stored at the district’s station on Lewis River Road would be moved to the Scott Avenue site, eliminating a current issue with the old downtown station where firefighters would have to drive across town to get what they need.
Apart from a more comfortable living area and the fire suppression additions, Nohr also touched on the structural stability of the station. Prior to the construction proper, geo pillars were put into the ground, making sure that any seismic event would not topple the station.
“We’re due for an earthquake, and when that happens, your community needs your fire station to be standing,” Nohr said.
