By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Longview, Washington city council approved a fire station levy for the November ballot that would fund construction of a third fire department station on Ocean Beach Highway and additional staffing.
- The proposed station would reduce emergency response gaps in Columbia Heights and the Highlands neighborhoods, which currently fall outside the five-minute response-time standard and take up to six minutes for emergency crews to reach.
- The property tax levy would cost residents $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed valuation beginning in 2027, or roughly $38 monthly for the median-priced home in Cowlitz County valued at $399,900.
- Fire Chief Brad Hannig emphasized that response time directly saves lives, noting that modern construction materials and design have cut average fire escape times from 17 minutes in 1980 to four minutes today.
- Mayor Erik Halvorson cast the sole dissenting vote, citing a city survey showing 88 percent of residents felt overburdened by recent tax increases.
LONGVIEW, WASH. — The Longview City Council voted Thursday to place a fire station and staffing levy on the November ballot, marking the culmination of a decade-long push to build a third fire department station and address persistent emergency response-time gaps in underserved neighborhoods.
The third fire station, to be located in the 2700 block of Ocean Beach Highway, would serve parts of Columbia Heights and the Highlands—areas currently unable to meet the city’s six-minute response time standard in certain locations. The national standard for emergency response is four minutes, according to Fire Chief Brad Hannig.
The department currently operates two stations: one downtown on Commerce Avenue and another in West Longview on 38th Avenue. The existing stations leave portions of the city outside the five-minute reach that fire officials recommend for life safety.
“The bottom line is response time saves lives,” Hannig told the council, “and that’s why strategically placed stations and staff make a difference.”
The property tax levy lid lift would cost fire district property owners $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, effective in 2027. For the median-priced home in Cowlitz County, valued at $399,900 according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, the annual cost would be approximately $460, or $38 per month.
Call volume for the fire department has increased substantially over the past 15 years. The department responded to 6,088 calls in 2024, up from 4,037 in 2010, though down from a peak of 6,555 in 2022. The proposed station would not include a training center due to budget constraints, though one could be added later if additional funding becomes available, according to city spokesperson Angela Abel.
Mayor Erik Halvorson cast the sole dissenting vote against sending the measure to the ballot. He cited a city-issued survey showing that 88 percent of respondents felt overburdened by recent tax increases. The council had recently approved a nonexpiring sales tax adding one cent to every $10 purchase to fund police and public defenders.
Councilmember Kalei LaFave noted that the survey included responses from only about 300 residents out of a fire district population of approximately 36,000, suggesting the results may not reflect broader voter sentiment.
Councilmember Wayne Nichols argued that further delays would increase costs for fire equipment and services. He referenced the May 26 Nippon chemical spill response, stating the incident demonstrated the urgency of expanding fire department capacity.
Councilmember Mike Claxton characterized the fire levy cost as minimal compared to health insurance, noting that living within five-minute response time essentially provided better protection than paying less and risking inadequate coverage.