OCFD6 New Station

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the current station be expanded to meet the requirements?
No. We don’t have enough room for existing operations. There is inadequate parking for volunteer firefighters. No room for parking when training for Fire Dist. equipment. No place to train driver/operators. No place to train on hose nozzle operation. No place for snow removal. The property has reached its maximum build out.

Why not locate the new station outside of Winthrop Town Limits?
Moving the station any significant distance could affect Fire District business and residence insurance rates. Washington Survey and Rating Bureau (WSRB) give the best rating if the station is located within 5 miles or less of a structure. The Town business owners and residents will be able to maintain their current rating by keeping the station in the town. A fire sprinkler system is required for the new station. Developing a water system outside of town for a sprinkler system would be high risk and even getting a permit for a water system would be difficult. Also the town provides sewer service. Both the water and sewer will be provided by the town in lieu of payments. 
We all are a community and District residents need the town for services as well as town businesses need District residence for support. There is no advantage for the Fire District to move out of Town.

Why does OCFD6 need on-site training grounds?
Good local training facilities are very important for the safety of the firefighters and the public. The District has no place at this time to do adequate training. We have to find places to do training and spend a lot of valuable time traveling to these training areas. Space restrictions at the current station location prohibit us from building permanent props for training, such as roof ventilation prop, confined space prop, or have an area to do driver/operator training. These are just a few of the training activities we can do outside. Also our training classroom is inadequate to house our own firefighters. The new training/meeting room can be used for other meetings and act as an emergency shelter.

Will OCFD6 conduct on-site live burns at the new station training grounds?
NO. Live burn training is conducted at structures donated by their owners, on their site. This occurs throughout the District and is a great benefit to the training of our firefighters. Firefighters also attend live fire training at facilities such as the North Bend Fire Academy.

Will the Town emergency alert siren be located at the new station site?
NO. All District firefighters carry pagers to notify them of a call.

What will happen to the existing station if the new station is built?
The Town of Winthrop owns the current building. It is unknown at this time what they will do with it.

Is the Winthrop Town Council in agreement with moving the Winthrop owned emergency equipment to a facility not owned by the Town?
Yes. We have had this discussion and they are in agreement. It makes no sense to have two different stations in town since it is the same firefighters doing the job.

Why doesn’t Winthrop pay for part of the new station cost since their equipment will be housed there?
They will pay rent in-kind by providing water and sewer service to the station at no cost.

Could one or more of the other OCFD6 stations be modified and expanded to accommodate OCFD6 needs?
We need to have a station in the Winthrop area to provide timely responses to everybody in the District and the Town of Winthrop. Moving the station any significant distance could affect Fire District business and residence insurance rates. Washington Survey and Rating Bureau (WSRB) give the best rating if the station is located within 5 miles or less of a structure.

How will the new station construction cost be funded?
The Fire District plans to run a levy lift request.

Are Winthrop and Twisp residents included in this vote and tax increase?
No. Winthrop and Twisp are not part of the Fire District 6 taxing district. Winthrop will participate by providing water and sewer service to the new station.