Construction of the Oak Harbor Fire Department’s new fire station is only a few days away.
Wednesday, city officials, staff, firefighters, builders and members of the community gathered at 1250 Southwest Swanton Avenue to celebrate the Fire Station 82 project finally breaking ground, with construction scheduled to start Monday, March 10.
In a speech, Oak Harbor Mayor Ronnie Wright thanked the city, the voters and firefighters for making the project possible.
The new station, which is expected to be completed by March 10, 2026, will measure 7,300 square feet, or one-third of the size of Station 81, the facility located at 855 East Whidbey Avenue.
As the population of Oak Harbor keeps growing, so does the fire department’s response time. According to Wright, calls have increased by over 90% since Station 81 was built more than 30 years ago.
Oak Harbor Fire Chief Travis Anderson said the new facility will reduce response times in many areas by more than 50%. Emphasizing the need for the new facility, he said that a person’s chances of survival drop by 10% every minute when they are unable to breathe or their heart stops beating, while it takes five minutes for a room to be fully engulfed in flames.
On top of bringing firefighters closer to growing neighborhoods, the facility also better serves the needs of firefighters, featuring individual sleeping rooms, decontamination areas for bunker gear and equipment, storage space for care and storage of emergency vehicles and equipment, a fitness room to support the firefighters’ health and readiness and a small training classroom. It was also designed according to the latest seismic and code requirements for essential facilities.
Former Oak Harbor Fire Chief Ray Merrill, who had advocated for the building since he became chief in 2012, told the News-Times he was invited but could not attend because his wife had a medical visit they could not reschedule.
Following Wright’s decision to let him go in January 2024, some community members asked to name the new building after the former chief, who in a previous interview stated he wasn’t planning on retiring until the project was completed.
Now serving as deputy chief at North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, Merrill said he was very pleased to know the project finally broke ground.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
After years of talks, city leaders finally agreed to add a levy lid lift and a bond to the 2022 ballot, and both measures passed with more than the 60% supermajority. This overwhelming support was a testament to the service that the fire department has provided to the community, Merrill said.
“I know the Oak Harbor Fire Department will continue to do a fantastic job for the citizens of Oak Harbor,” he said.
At the ceremony, Mayor Pro Tempore Tara Hizon thanked Merrill for his relentless advocacy.
“He never, ever let the city council forget that those few seconds, those few minutes might be the difference between saving a life and not,” she said.
The work will be done by Valdez Construction, an Oak Harbor-based contractor that has already built two fire stations on Whidbey, according to CEO Tony Martin. Valdez Construction was chosen for the project in December with a bid of over $4.7 million.
Rendering of the future Fire Station 82, which is set to be completed by March 10, 2026.
