Submitted by Chris Durkee, Task Force Chair – The South Shore Fire Station Task Force (SSFSTF) is making great progress in evaluating the future of Station #212 on South Shore Blvd. Meeting #2 (out of 6 meetings) was held on November 14th, and we addressed the question, “Do we need a 4th station in Lake Oswego?”
To answer this question, we studied the following issues:
- Current drive times* for the southeast quadrant of the city
- Drive times if Station #212 were to be decommissioned
- Drive time guidelines set by NFPA (National Fire Protection Association)
- Drive time standards set by Clackamas County, which provides some of LOFD’s funding
- Potential hazards to travel (bridges out during an earthquake, freight trains blocking traffic, etc.)
- Areas of housing growth – Mary’s Landing, Stafford, etc.
The Task Force’s consensus is that a 4th fire station in the south/east quadrant of Lake Oswego is vitally needed. Reasons include:
- Four stations are necessary to maintain the Department’s high standard of service (rapid response times).
- Even marginally longer response times reduces survivability in critical medical incidents (heart attacks) and exponentially increases damage in fire incidents.
- The projected response times without #212 would likely render the Fire Department unable to fulfill the terms of their contract with Clackamas County and AMR, leading to a significant reduction in Department revenue.
- Slower response times may also lower Lake Oswego’s Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rating, which could lead to higher insurance rates for all residents.
2. For serious incidents, in which multiple apparatus are dispatched, redundancy in the response network is a vital asset. The loss of this level of coverage would render the network less effective.
3. In the event of a major disaster, Station #212 mitigates hazards that could otherwise isolate the southeast quadrant of the City (bridges, dam, railroad crossings, landslide-prone topography).
4. Closing this station would lead to minimal operational savings, as the Department would likely have to up-staff at other stations while phasing-out positions through retirements.
5. Maintaining four stations supports current and future growth on the south side of the lake, both high-density residential development and the opening of new day-time draws (Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatic Center and Rassekh Park).
6. The Station #212 Fire Management Area includes two senior facilities that generate a higher volume of calls. Shifting this coverage to adjacent stations would stretch their capacity and response times.
7. This station houses the Fire Department’s rescue boat. There is not another city-owned facility with the ability to house the boat and provide similar proximity to both Oswego Lake and the Willamette River.
Members of the task force have toured Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue’s Station #39 on McEwan and Clackamas Fire District’s Station #16 in Oregon City.
Meeting #3 of the SSFSTF will be on December 5th, members will consider:
- Is the current location of Station #212 optimum?
- Would another location yield significant improvements?
- What would be the cost and time impact of selecting a new location.
Stay tuned – we’ll issue periodic updates on the Task Force’s progress. For
more information or to provide input please visit lakeoswego.city/SSFSproject,
contact Quin Brunner, LO Management Analyst (qbrunner@lakeoswego.city),
or Chris Durkee, Task Force Chair (durkeechris@yahoo.com)
*Drive times are used instead of “total response times” because drive times are a function of the station’s location whereas total response time includes time for the 911 dispatcher to process the call, get the call out to the appropriate station/apparatus, fire fighter/paramedic crew getting into their turnouts and get the rig moving, plus drive time.
