What's that planned on Butteville Road north of Gervais in Marion County?
Location: Butteville Road and Jensen Road north of Gervais
Description: With emergency response times currently almost double the national recommendation, the Woodburn Fire District is planning a Gervais fire station to serve the growing population north of Salem.
The 6,200-square-foot fire station is funded by a $12.7-million bond passed by voters in the Woodburn Fire District's service area in 2021. The bond, which replaced a 20-year bond that expired in 2022, also funded repairs to existing fire stations and new equipment.
The Woodburn Fire District serves 40,000 residents in an area that includes Woodburn, Gervais and surrounding rural areas. It currently has four stations. The addition of the Gervais station will bring that total to five.
The total project cost is $7.6 million.
According to the Woodburn Fire District, 5 acres were purchased and the project is shovel-ready. Construction is planned for early 2024.
The location on Butteville Road is north of Gervais and east of Interstate 5.
In a summary of the project, fire district officials said the Gervais community, which is 81% Hispanic, is currently underserved for emergency response to fire and medical emergencies.
According to the fire district, the establishment of the new fire station will improve response times from the current time of 10 minutes to less than four minutes, which will put the district in compliance with national response time standards and will improve safety in the growing community.
Fire district officials also said the fire station will be well-positioned to service the needs of the expanding areas south and west of Woodburn. The more than 3,000 housing units under development mean the fire district population is set to increase by 20% in the coming years. The station will be about a mile from the 3.8-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse.
The location will also serve as a Community Emergency Response Team facility for large-scale disaster preparedness and response.
Source: Woodburn Fire District
Is there something under construction you'd like to tell us about or find out more about? Contact reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What's that planned on Butteville Road in Marion County?
