MATTAWA — Grant County Fire District No. 8 is building a new headquarters north of Mattawa.

“We’re in the process, we just purchased the land, we’ll go out to bid for an architect and an engineer,” said David Patterson, chief of Grant County Fire District No. 3.

The district just bought 10 acres from the Pot of Mattawa at the port’s Sentinel Gap industrial park, near the intersection of state Route 243 and Road 22.5 Southwest for $290,000, Patterson said.

The whole project, which the chief hopes to be complete sometime in 2020, should cost around $3.3 million.

“It will improve our response times, give us a bigger facility,” Patterson said. “As the area grows, with more three-story buildings, this will allow for a ladder truck.”

“None of our current facilities can handle that,” he added.

Patterson said the new fire station would also have quarters for firefighters, something none of the district’s three current stations has.

Currently, Grant County Fire District No. 8 has four paid staff and 25 volunteers in three fire stations serving around 250 square miles.

“Last year was a record response year for us,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the fire district will fund the construction project with a combination of reserves, grants, and other state assistance.

Lars Leland, the director of the Port of Mattawa, said the funds from the land sale will be used to help improve the roads in the 150-acre Sentinel Gap industrial park.

“This deal has been in the works since November,” he said.

The Port of Mattawa has two more industrial parks, in additional to Sentinel Gap — the 43-acre Wahluke Industrial Park near the roundabout, and the 7-acre Pat-Chee Industrial Park, just across the road.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at [email protected].