By Hayley Day
The Daily News
LONGVIEW, Wash. — Longview Fire district voters can soon decide whether a roughly decade-long suggested third fire station will be built after emergency calls have increased since the proposal, and some addresses are located outside the department’s five-minute reach.
The national standard response time for emergency crews to reach a fire is four minutes, but the city’s standard is currently two minutes longer due to the inability to reach certain parts of the city during the recommended time from the department’s stations downtown on Commerce Avenue and in West Longview on 38th Avenue.
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The third station on Ocean Beach Highway would cover the gap, which includes parts of Columbia Heights and the Highlands, and provide additional backup to other areas in the city, Longview Fire Chief Brad Hannig told the council at Thursday’s meeting.
Open floor plans and lighter construction material, as opposed to solid wood, have decreased the average time to escape a fire to four minutes today, as opposed to 17 minutes in 1980, Hannig said.
“The bottom line is response time saves lives,” he added “and that’s why strategically placed stations and staff make a difference.”
Councilmember Ruth Kendall said most residents probably don’t realize whether they fall within this response-time gap. Every citizen should receive the same access to services, and now they can make the choice to do so by voting, she added.
“I think it’s giving the community the opportunity ... to opt into improving that service, so that they have the adequate response times across the city,” Kendall said, “so it’s equitable across the city, so that we don’t have parts of the community that are OK, and ... they get the five minute response times, (and) parts that don’t.”
Levy cost, station location
Revenue from the property tax on November’s ballot will help the city build the fire station in the 2700 block of Ocean Beach Highway and staff it. A training center will not be included in the new building due to costs, but could be added later if other funding becomes available, said city spokesperson Angela Abel.
A recent annual report from the fire department shows that Longview had 6,088 calls for service in 2024, down from a peak of 6,555 in 2022 but up significantly from the 4,037 recorded in 2010.
The tax levy lid lift would cost property owners in the fire district $1.15 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, starting in 2027.
The levy would cost the owner of a $399,900 home about $460 a year or $38 a month.
According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research, the median home price for Cowlitz County in the first quarter of 2026 was $399,900.
Previously, the council reviewed two separate tax measures: one for the fire station and another to cover EMS. The council also previously considered spinning off the fire department into its own taxing district, but the plan was scrapped after it was deemed to be infeasible.
Halvorson says survey shows voters are against
Mayor Erik Halvorson was the sole dissenting vote Thursday to send the levy lid lift to ballots, in part, because a city-issued survey showed 88% of respondents felt overburdened by recent tax increases.
Last month, Halvorson was also the only dissenting vote against the council’s addition of a nonexpiring sales tax, adding a penny to every $10 purchase in the city to fund police and public defenders.
Councilmember Kalei LaFave said only about 300 people took the survey Halvorson referenced, while the fire district’s population is about 36,000, so the results may not reflect the majority of voters’ views.
Councilmember Wayne Nichols said the longer council waits to adopt the levy lid lift, the higher the cost will be, as prices for fire equipment, as well as almost any goods and services, continue to rise.
“We’ve kicked this can down the road for a decade, and it’s time to step up, as the events of the last couple weeks have showed us,” he said, referencing the May 26 fatal Nippon chemical spill in which Longview Fire responded.
Halvorson said he previously backed the November 2024 voter-approved public safety tax because he believed it would pass, which it did. But he has less confidence about this fire levy lid lift. He also doesn’t approve continuously asking voters to pass a measure if it fails, he added.
Councilmember Mike Claxton said the cost of the fire department’s ask is actually minimal when comparing it to health insurance.
“I mean, it’s better health insurance if you’re within five minutes than finding out that you’ve paid less and are on the wrong side of that equation,” he said.
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