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Redmond Fire previews functional plan, flags aging stations, resilience needs and one downtown station addition
Summary
Deputy Fire Chief Ami Quercone briefed the Planning Commission on the draft fire functional plan, identifying aging facilities, Station 11’s vulnerability, electrification constraints, the need for a logistics hub, and a potential additional downtown station to maintain response times as the city grows vertically.
Deputy Fire Chief Ami Quercone told the Redmond Planning Commission April 23 that the draft Redmond Fire functional plan will prioritize replacing or renovating aging stations, improving facility resilience, and aligning fire capital needs with the Redmond 2050 comprehensive plan horizon.
Quercone outlined Redmond Fire’s current operations: seven stations (four inside the city and three serving King County Fire District 34), more than 13,000 responses per year, and a call mix that is roughly 80% medical. She said four of the seven stations are more than 40 years old and that many stations’ electrical, HVAC and plumbing systems are outdated. "Fire stations are emergency response hubs...They are 24-hour living facilities," Quercone said, adding that stations are classified as essential facilities under the International Building Code and therefore must meet more stringent design and resilience standards.
Quercone described several issues the functional plan will address: Station 11 (headquarters) is in poor condition, sits in a floodplain and a mapped liquefaction zone; Station 12 is located in Bellevue and has limited room to expand to meet growth in Overlake; apparatus and equipment stock has fallen behind and would benefit from a centralized logistics hub; and existing electrical capacity across stations will constrain full electrification of vehicles without upgrades. She said the department has already purchased new apparatus to replace aging vehicles and that capital equipment planning will be included in the functional plan.
On service standards, Quercone noted the Redmond 2050 target of a six-minute travel time for 90% of emergency calls but warned total response time is lengthening—especially in taller buildings where elevator access and staging slow access. The functional plan will evaluate which stations should be renovated or replaced and where an additional downtown station would improve response capability.
Quercone outlined the schedule: the department will finish plan elements and route them for interdepartmental review by the end of May; staff expect to hold a study session with the commission July 9, return for a public hearing and a commission recommendation in August, and seek City Council adoption in November. She also said the functional plan will identify impact-fee-eligible projects needed to update the city’s impact-fee calculations.
Commissioners asked about resilience hubs, logistics centers, whether water-storage and public-works planning align with fire needs, comparisons with other jurisdictions, and use of data and NFPA guidance to set response standards. Quercone said NORCOM’s computer-aided dispatch and regional coordination help manage deployments and that some regional authorities maintain logistics centers to store reserve vehicles and equipment.
The briefing was informational; no formal action or vote was taken. The commission will receive a formal study-session presentation and public hearing later this year.
