News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
The aft bay as seen from a computer room that overlooks it. The bright LED lights embedded in the floor help to guide drivers into the facility. - Scott Hunter photos
Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout, left, Elmer City public works director and firefighter Jimmer Tillman, and Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne take a tour of the kitchen in the Bureau of Reclamation's new fire station with Assistant Fire Chief Casey Parrish. The kitchen is "where a lot of work in a fire station gets done," said Fire Chief Bryce McCleary.
A good size training room sports a very large monitor on the wall. Outside windows are tuned to the heating and air conditioning system and adjust the amount of sunlight coming in as needed.
Bureau of Reclamation officials opened the doors of the new fire station in Grand Coulee Tuesday during public tours of the nearly complete new facility they said would be open within a few weeks.
With terrazzo floors embedded with LED lighting strips to guide engine drivers in, a computer room overlooking the engine bay, a huge kitchen with lockers for individual crew members, windows that adjust the incoming sunlight to the needs dictated by the HVAC system, and much more, the bright facility is a far cry from the station where Bureau firefighters currently spend much of their time, five stories below ground.
The new station boasts an automatic exhaust system that comes on to empty the engine bay of fumes, a big training room with very large monitor, separate rooms for the firefighters, who work in 48-hour shifts, and even traditional looking poles to get them to those engines quickly.
"Take a look around; it's a fantastic facility," said Bureau Regional Director Jennifer Carrington, who wanted to show it off to a group of local leaders first before public tours later in the afternoon. "The new fire station will help ensure the reliable protection not only for Reclamation facilities, but it will also assist our local community and other agencies."
Carrington acknowledged the community's patience over the long wait since the project began in 2016 and expressed gratitude.
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