The bond initiative for South County Fire that will appear on our November ballots will replace one of Lynnwood’s aging fire stations while renovating another one to bring increase its efficiency and safety in the event of an earthquake. Two new stations will be built near the city that will increase the response times on calls within city limits despite the projected increase in density.
Built in 1990, Blue Ridge Fire Station (No. 14) is not large enough to handle its current workload and the station would likely become inoperable in the next large earthquake if it’s not replaced. As for the Civic Center Fire Station (No. 15), that station was built in 1995 and is in desperate need of seismic retrofitting along with increasing its square footage so that it’ll better be able to handle the increasing demands on the department as the city’s density increases. These two projects are part of the bond initiative that voters will have to approve or reject on November 3rd, 2026.
Along with the two existing stations, two proposed stations will be able to serve the city. The first of these stations is on Alderwood Mall Parkway near 170th street southwest, while the second one is on Highway 99 near 216th street southwest. These two infill stations will help alleviate some of the workload as the neighboring cities continue to add more housing and businesses.
More news from the Lynnwood City Council July 15th, 2025 meeting
These projects in Lynnwood are only a portion of the bond proposal that will finance the complete replacement of six fire stations, the renovation of another four, and the construction of four brand new ones. Outside of the new stations on Highway 99 and Alderwood Mall Parkway, the other two are at Manor and Cascadian.
If voters approve the bond, South County Fire will issue three separate bonds over a seven year period with a 20 year payment; this means that the bonds will expire 27 years after the initiative is passed. To pay these bonds, the tax increase to the average residential home owner will be $0.194 per $1,000 of assessed property value – for example, a $600,000 home will see a monthly increase of $9.70 or $116.40 annually. For seniors and low income households that qualify for the property tax exemption they receive from the county.
To accommodate the ongoing rampant inflation, escalators were built into the estimated cost for the construction and renovation projects covered in the bonds.
Because new fire stations means that the department will have to hire additional fire fighters, council president Nick Coelho asked about how the department plans to cover the additional salaries and benefits. This additional cost will be covered by the increasing property values as the cities in the district increase density.
The pitch that was made during the meeting was the South County Fire is an agency that is not only good at its job but is making significant efforts to reduce the cost burden on the tax payers. As it turns out, most of the calls that EMS responds to do not require a hospital visit even if the patient is brought there by the EMTs. To help reduce this cost, the department is exploring telehealth options that would allow the callers to consult with a doctor without the additional wear and tear on the ambulance of the trip to the hospital.
Another effort that’s being made to reduce the wear and tear on vehicles, especially the expensive to maintain ladder trucks, is shifting duties and calls to smaller vehicles where there are more replacement parts in the supply chain that make it more cost effective to purchase.
South County Fire has one of an above average survival rates for cardiac events in the country; in fact, its EMTs go down to the University of Washington annually to help teach their resuscitation and CPR techniques. Another way that the department has been able to increase survival rates on calls is that it has paramedics that are trained on how to give blood transfusions in the field that deploy to crashes or other trauma incidents.
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