Upgrades for Water-Based Fire Response. Staff to Follow?

We’ve heard a few stories lately relating to Tacoma’s fire department, specifically our water-based facilities, some more interesting than others.

Fireboat Sourcing
Tacoma goes with “‘go to guys’ in fireboats.” Doesn’t sound like much of a story.

The new fireboat Destiny, which will be faster and more maneuverable than Tacoma’s other fireboat, was chosen based on factors such as reliability, ease of operation, warranty, and builder qualifications and delivery schedule. Those sound like important factors in purchasing a fireboat. We’ve never purchased a fireboat, but we’re thinking you would want it to work well and reliably for a long time.

Read more on this from The News Tribune

Ruston Way Fire Station
We do, however, have a few questions about the latest on the Ruston Way waterfront fire station No. 5, raised last week by Todd Matthews from the Daily Index.

As we wrote recently, plans for the Ruston Way station continue to move forward

They would like to begin construction in September of this year. Two weeks ago, the Public Safety, Human Services, and Education Committee approved an extra $57,000 to the consulting contract to allow plans to move forward. The total for the project at this point is just shy of $4.1 million. When the request for the additional funds came before the committee, a question came up – did they have the manpower to staff it? The answer, for now, is no.

So why move forward? A quote from Tacoma Public Works Director Richard (didn’t he used to go by Dick?) McKinley in the Index story sheds some light on the answer.

“If you are in that building, you feel every wave, the thing moves around — I mean, it’s really not safe,” said McKinley. “So the city was in a position of probably facing tearing it down and doing all of the environmental cleanups and remediations, or retaining that structure and making it safe. So the decision of the council at that time was let’s not lose this thing. Let’s save it, let’s make it good and keep those options open in the future. It fits into the response plans very well to how police and fire serve that area on hot busy summer days. It is an important piece of the system.”

Funds set aside for the $4.1 million project include $3 million from bonds issued in 2009, and $1.1 from a federal port security grant. So the project moves forward, and Tacoma’s two fireboats will have an alternate moorage to the also aging dock at Station No. 18 near the Murray Morgan Bridge. For now, water response times may not be improving, as staff will have to be borrowed from Station No. 1 or No. 13 or No. 14 up the hill, but the project appears to be banking on the fact that we won’t always be in times as tough as these. Let’s hope so.

Read Todd Matthews’ full story from the Tacoma Daily Index.

Previously from Exit133: Plans for Ruston Way Fire Station Continue.