Oak Harbor Fire Chief Ray Merrill is taking one small step forward in a project that’s been talked about for at least a decade.

He won approval from the City Council last week to advertise for requests for qualification to find a firm to conduct a feasibility study for a second fire station in the southwest quadrant of the city.

“Essentially we’re looking for a third party, with no connection to the city or fire department, to confirm what we already know,” he said.

What firefighters already know, he said, is that response times are too high in the areas farthest from the fire department.

Some housing in the southwest part of the city is as far as 3.2 miles from the station. It takes up to seven minutes for firefighters to respond, he said.

Councilwoman Tara Hizon said during a workshop last month that the proposal for a second fire station makes sense.

“Everyone in the city is paying for the same level of service,” she said. “And when someone is 30 seconds away and someone is eight minutes away, that’s not the same level of service. Period.”

Under city code, response times are supposed to be under four minutes for medical calls and five minutes for fires.

The southwest area of the city is the fastest growing.

The council recently approved an intent to annex about 17 acres of residentially zoned property adjacent to Fort Nugent Road; the fire department noted concerns with response times in the area.

Merrill said the first step is to find a qualified company to do the study. He said the city doesn’t know exactly how much the study or a new fire station will cost.

The feasibility study, he said, will look at the data to determine response times with and without a new station. It will also help determine costs, design and a potential location.