Legion Road Firehouse

In March 1979, then-fire chief Chris Koehl submitted a proposal to the city council regarding the need for a second fire station.  Quarters at the Jefferson Street station had become overcrowded to the point that one of their emergency vehicles was being kept off-site, and even with that, the Jefferson Street building was extremely cramped.  Koehl proposed an additional firehouse be built further west, centered in their protection district, which at that time stretched to Sunnyland Plaza.  His original recommendation suggested a new firehouse on North Cummings Lane.  Mayor Arden Muller promised to form a committee to look at the issue.

In December 1979, it was announced that the city had purchased 5 acres on Legion Road from Homer Muller to construct a new firehouse and water tower.

By 1981, plans had changed a bit, and when the bids were granted for work to be done, it was stated that the building would only be a basic structure used to lessen the overcrowding at the primary fire station, with future plans to upgrade the facilities to a working fire station. By the time the building was finally constructed, approximately 80% of the labor was performed by the volunteer firefighters.

The building did serve as a working fire station for a short time, but only for night calls.  Volunteer firefighters who lived west of Cummings Lane responded to the Legion Road station for those infrequent evening calls.

In addition to its short stint as a fire station, the building was also used as a storage facility, a space for training, classes, and business meetings, and the home of the antique fire engine used in parades.

The radio facilities in the building were used by the ESDA (Emergency Service & Disaster Agency), Washington Police, and EMA (Emergency Management Agency) radio repeaters, who used the building’s radio tower at various times during its history.

At some point in the early 2000s, the building stopped being used for emergency purposes and is now solely used by the Washington Department of Public Works.