Firefighters at Station 17, at 1050 N.E. 50th St., in the University District will soon move to a temporary site nearby while their current building is renovated.The Seattle Fire Department has applied for a permit to use a parking lot at 4557 11th Ave. N.E. to set up a temporary fire station. According Fire Levy communications officer Christina Faine, the department is negotiating with the University of Washington, the lot's owner, to lease the property.The land will be used to temporarily house firefighters, equipment and fire apparatus while Fire Station 17 is remodeled, she said. The temporary fire facilities will consist of tents and trailers, and will house 11 firefighters, a ladder truck, an engine, an aide car and a battalion chief's car.Faine said that the department expected to begin construction on the existing firehouse in late spring or early summer and that fire operations will operate out of the temporary site for about 18 months.These renovations will add space for a medic unit, as well as a unit specializing in tunnel rescue, which will become more necessary as the Sound Transit light rail is completed through the University District.Additionally, the station's electrical and mechanical systems will be overhauled, and more space will be made available for classrooms. An outdoor court designed for on-site training also is planned.NO LONG-RANGE PLANSAccording to UW real estate director Jeanette Henderson, the university acquired the 11th Avenue Northeast property from the Safeco Corp. back in 2006, along with its acquisition of Safeco Tower and several nearby properties. She said that the property is currently being used as a rented parking lot. While the fire department intends to return this property to its current state once it's done with it, the UW does not have any long-range plans for the site, she said.NEEDED MODERNIZATIONFunding for this project comes from increased property taxes in the Fire and Emergency Levy passed by Seattle voters in 2003 by more than 68 percent. Most of the funds from the $167.2 million levy were applied to retrofitting and modernizing 32 of Seattle's 33 fire stations. "When we assessed our fire facilities, we found that two-thirds of our fire stations would be damaged in a major earthquake," former Fire Chief Gary Morris said in 2003, speaking in support of the levy. "We just can't afford to have our firefighters out of service when we need them the most."Most of Seattle's fire stations were built between 1918 and 1974. Station 17 was built in 1929 and is the headquarters for Battalion 6, which serves the University District and other neighborhoods northeast of Lake Union.According to the fire-levy master schedule published last year, Station 17 - along with those in Northgate, Belltown and the Rainier Valley - is among the group of stations slated to be renovated first.For more information, visit www.seattle.gov/fleetsfacilities/firelevy/.[[In-content Ad]]
