Site of the former Westgate Fire Station
I felt a certain degree of safety when the old Westgate Fire Station operated out of the building at 1550 Rocky Point Road. The photo shows the cinder-block structure as it looked before the new tenant, Olympic Mountain Rescue, painted and reroofed it last summer. Although I have never made a 9-1-1 call in my life, living a mile from a fire station was reassuring, even one staffed by volunteers.
The Westgate Fire Station was built in 1962. For more than 50 years the station made aid calls and helped fight fires on Rocky Point and in nearby areas. Other stations responded too depending on the situation, but it was by far the closest. Most recently South Kitsap Fire & Rescue (SKF&R) kept an engine there. They moved out in 2014.
The unincorporated areas of Rocky Point are in the South Kitsap Fire District. I know that because a significant chunk of my property taxes goes to Fire District No. 7 to pay for emergency medical calls and fire protection services. Fire District No. 7 is another name for SKF&R.
While it’s old news that Westgate no longer serves Rocky Point, I didn’t know what replaced it. Curious about which fire station is our “home” station now if there is such a thing, I sent some email to SKF&R to find out. The deputy chief wrote back right away.
He said that the primary response to Rocky Point is provided by the Bremerton Fire Department and the SKF&R station located in Gorst. Two of Bremerton’s fire stations are reasonably close (less than 3 miles). Gorst is about 5 miles away. There’s heavy morning and evening traffic on Navy Yard Highway so that might slow down the response from Gorst to Rocky Point even for a fire truck running its lights and siren.
The deputy chief also explained that how they respond to Rocky Point depends on the nature of the event. A critical issue like a fire or heart attack gets the closest qualified people and equipment regardless of agency. This is called mutual aid and is practiced throughout the region. A lesser issue will get units from SKF&R before they ask for help from Bremerton. The response may take longer but is deemed acceptable based on the nature of the event.
Last summer there was a fire in the Rocky Point Mobile Home Park. According to coverage in the Kitsap Sun, both Bremerton and SKF&R responded.
No matter which fire station responds, I’m concerned about how the firefighters would fight a fire at my house in addition to their response time. No way is a fire truck going to be able to drive down my hilly S-curve driveway. They would be dragging hoses down from the top of the hill.
Even so, I’m reassured by what I have read and what the deputy chief said. We pay property taxes to support the 9-1-1 system and emergency responders in Kitsap County, and the system seems to work well. Some of that I’m taking on faith. I would rather not find out from personal experience.
Mud Bay Blog 