Bend Fire & Rescue now aims to add firefighters to new Pilot Butte substation by end of the year
(Update: Adding video, comment from fire chief)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Two of the engine bays at Bend Fire and Rescue Station No. 306 are actually a classroom right now for Bend Police.
Bend Fire and Rescue Chief Todd Riley told NewsChannel 21 on Wednesday, “We have rented out to Bend Police, and this is a training room for them. Their headquarters are right next door. They needed the training space, and right now we're not using it.”
The other two bays of the station next to Pilot Butte on 15th street house two ambulances, but otherwise, no firefighters.
And while the lease between Bend Fire and Police is long-term, Riley may be getting the firefighters the station needs by year's end.
He said funds to build the station in 2019 were put up by the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District No. 2.
“We needed to staff this eventually, and so the station was built, but there was no subsequent staffing plans,” Riley said.
And the need for the station is great, he said, based on it’s location.
“We know by the number of calls that we run and the location of those calls that we run, that the day that we staff this station, this is going to be one of our busiest, if not the busiest engine in our system,” Riley said.
Now the station is set to get busier by the end of the year.
“(We’re) really grateful for the partnership with between the city and the rural fire protection district to come up with a bridge funding plan,” Riley said.
As planned and discussed at last week's Bend City Council meeting, $1.8 million will go to hiring nine firefighters to staff the station around the clock.
“This funding is temporary, and it's just to get us to our next levy,” Riley said.
The bridge will cover funding until 2024, when Riley hopes increased funding from a levy on next year’s ballot kicks in.
“We will need voter support to ensure that our staffing is what the community demands,” he said.
Firefighters will be hired over the summer, trained in the fall and hopefully staff the station in December.
