On Saturday, October 25 from 11am-2pm, firefighters will host a community open house and provide tours of the new Bethany Fire Station 68 located at 13545 NW Evergreen in Portland. A brief ceremony will take place at 11:30am.

Station 68 serves the communities of Bethany, Oak Hills, and Cedar Mill. The original fire station, a 1970 ranch-style house, was purchased in 1984 and converted for use as a two-person fire station with one mini-pumper. A carport was constructed behind the home to house the fire engine and emergency response demands eventually necessitated that a four-person crew operate out of the station.

The decision to relocate a fire station is based not only on the demands faced by a specific community (population, incidents, traffic), but also the needs--and assets--of the surrounding community. The proximity of other fire stations (including two Hillsboro fire stations now located on TVF&R's Western border) and over 100,000 incidents confirmed that relocating Station 68 would help TVF&R continue to provide excellent emergency services to the community for decades to come.

After an extensive search for property that was properly zoned, adequately sized, financially feasible, and had good access for emergency response, TVF&R purchased land at the corner of NW Thompson Road & Evergreen Street.

The aging structure did not meet current seismic standards and had dated mechanical and electrical systems, reduced capacity to house multiple modern fire engines, and no provisions for the full emergency response crew (4-person company) or female firefighters that worked there.

The new station offers a public meeting room, which can accommodate 20 people and is already being utilized by many public, community, and non-profit organizations. Room reservations can be made by calling 503-649-8577 or online at www.tvfr.com. This project was one of many funded by a $77.5 million general obligation bond that was passed in November 2006 by 68.6% of TVF&R voters.