Operations to End Jan. 1 at Kirkland's Fire Station 24 on Finn Hill

Emergency service operations will end as of Jan. 1 at Kirkland’s Fire Station 24, one of two on Finn Hill that the city is planning to consolidate by building one larger station to provide more consistent repsonse times.

The city will host a community workshop on Jan. 18 to discuss and get input on locating the new consolidated station, and no doubt the end of operations at Station 24.

City Manager Kurt Triplett would not say Friday morning that Station 24, a small facility that in recent years has been staffed only at night by volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians, was completely closing.

But he said as of Jan. 1 Kirkland's volunteer, or “reserve,” EMTs would no longer operate from the station and it “most likely” would close.

“We don’t know yet what we’re going to do with it,” Triplett said. “It could become the site of the new station. But I want to make sure people understand that no one will be less safe. Finn Hill will still receive the exact same protection.”

The reserves are certified EMTs who have staffed the station on 84th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 141st Street at night, three at a time. They provide limited emergency response, operating the station’s aid car in conjunction with professional firefighters who operate out of nearby Fire Station 25 on Holmes Point Drive.

Triplett said the reserves would continue to provide emergency services with the professional firefighters, but that their duties would be expanded to include more emergency preparedness work and community education.

“As of Jan. 1 they will not operate an aid car out of the station,” he said. “But we will continue to keep them on and help them with training. They’ve done a great job.”

A few residents have expressed concern about the end of operations at Station 24, on the Finn Hill Community Facebook page. Scott Morris, president of the recently renamed Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance (formerly the Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance) , said neighbors are eager to hear from the city about the end of operations at the station.

"We're aware that services at Station 24 were limited," he said. "But the community would appreciate an understanding of the impact of this change."

The two fire stations on Finn Hill, an area that became part of Kirkland on June 1 through annexation, were previously operated by the city through a contract with King County Fire District 41. District 41 commissioners and the city have for years planned to consolidate the two stations into one larger, more centrally located station, to reduce operating costs and improve response times area-wide.

District 41’s preferred location was inside Big Finn Hill Park, for a station estimated to cost $4.5 million near the intersection of Juanita Drive and Northeast 138th Street. But it proved unpopular with residents, many of them saying the process had not been open to the public enough and expressing strident opposition during a March public meeting; see a .

With annexation, Fire District 41 was dissolved and the city took on the search for a new station location, in July hiring an architectural consultant, TCA Architecture-Planning Inc.

Kirkland Fire Department officials, city staff and TCA representatives will attend the meeting Jan. 18, 7 p.m., at Finn Hill Junior High School, 8040 N.E. 132nd St.

Triplett said the Station 24 location, the site in Big Finn Hill Park, another previously examined site next to the junior high and others remained on the table in the siting process.

“We don’t have a preferred option at this point,” he said. “We’re starting (the siting process) over and bringing the public with us this time.”

Another option being examined is some sort of arrangement with adjacent fire jurisdictions, such as Bothell, for a jointly operated station, Triplett noted.

He added that he believes Kirkland Fire Department officials are planning some sort of ceremony about the ending of operations at Station 24.

The public can submit ideas about siting the new consolidated station on the city web pages by clicking here. For project updates and to subscribe to receive updates via email, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/finnhillstation.