Bid for construction awarded to Moses Lake firm

QUINCY — It has taken more than two years, but Grant County Fire District No. 3 Chief Don Fortier will get the chance to break ground on a new home for him and his firefighters.

The district's new Fire and Life Facility was approved by the voters last September, the third time the bond was on the ballot. The fire district moved another step closer last week, when district commissioners voted to award the construction bid last week to Legacy Construction Group Inc. of Moses Lake for approximately $2.6 million.

"We're excited," Fortier said, "we're looking forward to moving on with the next phase of it."

A groundbreaking has been scheduled at the site on 1201 S. Central Avenue for 1:30 p.m. May 25.

The new 29,000-square-foot building will consolidate the district's three main buildings to one. When it is scheduled to be completed next February, the building will include a seven bay garage, maintenance and administrative wing and a training room able to house up to 110 students for classes.

The building also boasts a kitchen and four bedrooms, which will allow the district to begin a resident sleeper program at its main facility. Satellite stations have had the program, but the resident sleeper program will be a new feature for firefighters at the district's main Quincy facility.

"It's a one-stop fire station," Fortier said recently, "Everything we need is in this building."

The new facility allows for easy access to area highways, an important feature for one of the largest fire district's in the state. At 503-square miles, the district stretches from Quincy to George as well as to Crescent Bar and Sunland Estates.

Once Fortier and his firefighters move into the new station, the district will make a determination on what to do with the current station on C Street SW.