Congressman Larsen Backs Request For Additional Staff At Everett’s Busiest Fire Station

The busiest fire station in the city of Everett, Washington in terms of annual call volume is Station 6 which is located on Evergreen Way in south Everett.

Last Saturday Congressman Rick Larsen toured the station and talked with crew members about what additional staffing would mean. Everett Fire has applied for a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Federal grant in the amount of $1.65 million dollars.

The grant would pay for ten new firefighters at station six which would translate to two more firefighters on duty seven days a week and allow Aid 6 to be in use on a regular basis. This would allow Engine 6 to be available for more fire calls.

Station 6 ran more than four thousand calls over the past 12 months. Far more than any other station in the city. The mix of thousands of apartment units, residential development in the south end and having responsibility for calls to Boeing and the surrounding industrial area are all contributing factors to the high volume of calls.

This spring Congressman Larsen wrote a letter of support for the grant to FEMA citing improved response times for emergencies, more efficient EMS delivery and increased availability of units throughout the city. We asked him why the station visit? “It’s one thing to look at a briefing proposal or paper and offer support,” said Larsen. “But to really understand the challenges the crew working station 6 is facing I wanted to come hear and see for myself.”

A decision from FEMA on the grant is expected later this summer. The grant would pay the salaries of 10 Everett, Washington firefighters for three years.

The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) was created to provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, “front line” firefighters available in their communities. The goal of SAFER is to enhance the local fire departments’ abilities to comply with staffing, response and operational standards established by the NFPA (NFPA 1710 and/or NFPA 1720). You can learn more about the grant program here.