Fire & Emergency Medical Services 2020 Ballot Measure

Prop 1 has enabled the City to hire 10 out of 20 new Firefighter/EMTs and provide for necessary equipment and operations. Specifically, Prop 1 allowed the Fire Department to stockpile a 12-month supply of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as N95 masks and allowed implementation of a new Community Responder Program to serve community members in crisis.

Currently, stations 21, 22, and 26 have three firefighter/EMTs, one engine, and one aid car. The descriptions of each station's staffing and vehicles can be seen below. Station 26 also has a battalion chief that is shown in the darker red color. Stations 25 and 27 have four and six firefighter/EMTs respectively. Station 27 has seven firefighter/EMTs as it staffs an engine, two aid cars and has a crew of three dedicated to operating the ladder truck.

Once the Fire Department hires these twenty additional firefighter/EMTs, and now that construction of the new Station 24 is complete, new distribution of staffing will look like the image below. Each additional firefighter/EMT is shown with a blue box around them. The hiring of the twenty firefighters will take time to complete. There are only two firefighter/EMT academies each year and the City of Kirkland is limited by several factors on the number of new firefighter/EMTs that can be successfully hired, trained and evaluated at one time.

Ten of the twenty additional firefighter/EMTs will provide a dedicated aid car at station 22 in Houghton, to respond to medical emergency calls at the busiest station in the south half of the City. Of the remaining ten firefighter/EMTs, five would staff one position at the new station 24 in North Juanita, creating a fully cross-staffed crew of three, and the last five would provide a fourth firefighter/EMT at station 26 in Rose Hill.

8.3.4

This ballot measure will build a new station 27 in Totem Lake, modernize and seismically renovate stations 22 in Houghton, 21 in Forbes Creek, 26 in N. Rose Hill, and allow the Fire Department to either construct or purchase a temporary fire station to house the firefighter/EMTs while stations are renovated. 

Fire station 27 is the City’s busiest fire station. It was built in the 1970s through a voter approved bond that passed in 1972. That same voter-approved bond also funded the replacement and relocation of station 25 from central Finn Hill to the current location at the corner of Juanita Drive and Holmes Point Drive.

This levy funds the construction and relocation of a new fire station 27 that houses eight firefighter/EMTs, two aid cars, an engine, and the ladder truck. It would also become the City’s second fire station East of I-405 (along with fire station 26). The property for new station 27 was purchased by the City in 2019 through an interfund loan and is located just north of EvergreenHealth. Above is a photo of the property. It is located at 13118 121st Way NE, Kirkland, WA 98034. The project is estimated to cost $28,500,000. 

This picture shows the location of current station 27 (top left corner) and the proposed site of new station 27, just North of EvergreenHealth on the right-hand side, east of I-405. 

Station 22 in Houghton, 21 in Forbes Creek, and 26 in N. Rose Hill require seismic renovations and modernization to improve firefighter/EMT health and safety as well as response times. Station 22 was built in the 1970s through a voter-approved bond in 1978 and serves the City’s south end including the new Kirkland Urban. This project is estimated at $9,600,000. 

Station 21 (left) in Forbes Creek, and station 26 (left and down) in N. Rose hill were built in the 1990s with a voter-approved bond that passed in 1990. Both stations require similar updates to station 22 with seismic reinforcement and modernization to provide for firefighter/EMT health and safety upgrades and improved response times. Station 21 is estimated to cost $6,100,000 and station 26 is estimated to cost $8,400,000.  

While new station 27 is built, the crew can remain at current station 27. While station 21 is renovated, crew can respond out of station 26. However, while stations 22 and 26 are renovated, a temporary fire station is required to provide a safe level of service to the community. The City was primarily exploring the option of a temporary fire station that would operate out of the Houghton Park and Ride and be there for nine months to a year. This project is estimated at $3,200,000. However, the City is still exploring other, more affordable options and will have a recommendation to the City Council in early 2021.

• Resolution R-5413(PDF, 472KB)   Accepting the Final Community Safety Advisory Group Report
• Resolution R-5386(PDF, 565KB)   Establishing the Community Safety Advisory Group
• 2012 Fire Department Strategic Plan(PDF, 4MB)  
• 2014 Standard of Coverage Study(PDF, 12MB)  
• Resolution R-5239(PDF, 398KB)   Adopting the 2017-2018 City Work Program
• Resolution R-5356(PDF, 308KB)   Adopting the 2018-2019 City Work Program
• Fire Department Annual Reports (2012 to 2018) 
• Potential Fire and Emergency Medical Services Ballot Proposition Statement Pro/Con Committees 2020 application(PDF, 16KB)
• Potential Fire and Emergency Medical Services Ballot Proposition Statement Pro/Con Committees 2020 application (Word Format)(DOC, 38KB)