Three months after the city opened its fourth fire station, response times to northeast Olympia have been cut nearly in half, city statistics show.
Nine out of 10 responses are 5 minutes and 36 seconds or less, down from 10 minutes and 46 seconds or less last year. That compares June 14 through Sept. 14 in 2011 with the same period in 2010.
Voters approved a property tax increase in 2008 to raise up to $16.5 million to build the station at 3525 Stoll Road, which opened in June. They also approved building a fire training center at 1305 Fones Road, which is slated to open next month. Last year, voters agreed to increase property taxes to hire 16 new firefighters to staff the station.
In return, fire officials said they'd be able to drop response times in northeast Olympia to below 6 minutes -- the national standard.
"We promised the voters we'd be able to do this, and it played out in the way it was designed," Fire Chief Larry Dibble said.
Dibble said in an email that while the statistics are good to know, the department needs a full year of solid data to make an accurate assessment.
The new station also means that the other stations don't have to send trucks outside of their districts as often to assist responses in other areas. Station 1 is based at Eastside Street and Fourth Avenue, Station 2 is on the west side at 330 Kenyon St. N.W. near Harrison Avenue, and Station 3 is on 22nd Avenue near Boulevard Road.
However, District 2, which is the sole station based on the west side, has seen its response time increase by about a minute.
Dibble acknowledged the department's challenge with the west side. "They get so many calls," he said.
"If we needed a new station it would be on the west side and it would be south of Harrison," he said.
Dibble said he'd have a better idea of trends with more data.
The fourth station was designed to cut response times in busy northeast Olympia, home to Providence St. Peter Hospital and multiple medical buildings and the source of many medical calls.
The overwhelming number of responses from Station 4 is to medical emergencies -- 344 out of 580 calls were for medical issues as of Friday. A Medic One ambulance is also now based at Station 4.
Mark Ramstad, general manager for Merrill Gardens on Lilly Road, said he's noticed a difference since the new station opened. Ramstad manages the retirement and assisted living home, which has 86 residents who average 85 years old. He says the Fire Department is called on a weekly basis.
Before the new station opened, firefighters normally responded from Station 3 at 22nd Avenue and Boulevard Road. Firefighters responded quickly before, "but this definitely, I would say, has knocked it in half," he said.
He recalled a recent incident in which firefighters made a difference. Two weeks ago, a woman fell twice in one day. The second time, she was transported to the hospital and admitted.
"It was that serious to the point that having them here that quickly the second time around got her to the care she needed," he said. "It definitely was very helpful."
Copyright 2011 Staff writer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
