NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Tom Fay, Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District #2 318-0459

Contract Notification

Bend, OR-Deschutes County Rural Fire Protection District #2 (DCRFPD #2) announces that a contract to build a new east side fire station has been awarded to Keeton King Construction of Sisters Oregon. The old east fire station located at the corner of Neff and Hamby was too small and had maintenance problems. If it was to be enlarged, Americans with Disabilities requirements would have entailed major remodeling. Rather than expend a large amount of money for a temporary fix, the board of directors decided to build a new station that will match three new stations completed in 2000. The new east station will be similar to the others in design, and will be located 300 yards north of the existing station. It will incorporate energy savings in the form of a solar assisted system for the hot water heater. The facility will include an area for housing the backup center for the 9-1-1 service district.

The new station will be built on land that formerly belonged to the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District (BMPRD). The existing station will continue operations while the new one is built. This will allow uninterrupted emergency services to be provided to the east Bend area. Once the new station is complete and in operation, the old station will be given to the BMPRD for their use. The construction of the new east station will complete the upgrade of emergency service facilities in the Bend area. The city of Bend and the DCRFPD #2 are served by five interrelated fire stations. Each new station is well located to cover a portion of the response area and has been built to accommodate additional crews although they generally have only one crew on duty at each station. Thus if that station is out on a call, a second response in that area has to be handled by an available crew from the next closest station. The crews should be considered a mobile resource because they provide backup to all of the other stations and they all may respond to areas outside of their immediate vicinity. As Bend continues to grow, everything is in place for emergency services to grow with it. The new stations can accommodate the increased staff necessary to keep up with growth.

A part of the bid package included the construction of an educational building and other emergency service facilities at the North Fire Station next to the Sheriffs Department. The board of directors authorized that work to be included in the project. Since the 2.9 million dollar project is financed through district reserves and funds obtained through the Oregon Bond Bank it will not require any increase in taxes. The debt service will be partially offset by lease payments made by the Bend Fire Department.

Chairman of the Fire District Board, Kent Haarberg, noted that the entire project should be completed by the first part of 2003.

For more information contact DCRFPD #2 Administrative Manager, Tom Fay, at 318-0459.

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