First of Central Kitsap's new fire stations coming soon at Olympic View

As Station 52 nears completion, the Olympic View neighborhood and others just west of Silverdale will be first to experience the benefits of Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s bond.

The first of five newly constructed fire stations coming to Kitsap County, Station 52, at 5328 NW Anderson Hill Road, is in the final stages of construction with hope for a June 1 opening.

In November 2020 voters passed Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s $58.3 million fire facilities bond, setting into motion the construction of five fire stations and improvements to four additional stations. The groundbreaking of Station 52 occurred in February of 2022. Now, almost 13 months later, the fire district is preparing to serve those surrounding communities from a new home.

The former Station 52, described by CKFR in 2019 as a cracking, worn-down 1,280-square foot-facility, was built in 1963. Used by volunteers, the station’s limited space and staffing resulted in inadequate response times for a area of Kitsap County that changed dramatically over the past 60 years. The new location, just three miles down Olympic View Road, gives better access to growing communities, said Mike Tague, CKFR’s system chief of capital projects. Additionally, he said CKFR is planning for the new station to be staffed 24/7.

In addition to reduced response times for both fire and EMS, the health and wellness of staff are also being addressed in the new stations. Tague said the new facility, which is upward of 10,000 square feet, is equipped with decontamination rooms to promote cleanliness and reduce carcinogens for “a building that is a cleaner, healthier, safer environment for our personnel.”

Station 52 is also seismically reinforced and has an on-site generator with the capacity to run for 72 hours to ensure uninterrupted service even in the case of natural disaster, Tague said.

“We're taking these buildings to a real high level as far as testing, making sure that we're putting out a very good product for the community,” he said.

Other improvements include movements toward sustainability.

“The changes in the code, especially the energy code have challenged us in a good way to provide buildings that will be sustainable (in energy and costs),” Tague said.

Station 52 serves as a model for the other stations in stages of construction, which will be similar in layout and design.

“We want the community to be proud of their buildings, recognize their buildings,” Tague said. “We want people to be able to come up to our facilities and go, ‘That’s a Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue Building.’”

Residents in East Bremerton can expect North Perry Station 45, on Illahee Road just north of Sylvan Way, a few months after Station 52 opens, followed by Station 57 in Lake Symington in March of next year.

Tague thanks the community for allowing CKFR to rebuild the organization’s infrastructure.

“It's a real opportunity, and we're just very thankful to the community for providing it,” Tague said. “Very rarely does an organization get to do such an incredible capital improvement to their department in one shot.”

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue station construction at Olympic View