Station 56 primarily serves the communities of Wilsonville and Tualatin, and the adjoining South Operating Center provides education, prevention, inspection and new construction services to Wilsonville, Tualatin, West Linn, Rivergrove and Durham.

The original fire station was built in 1979 and once served as the headquarters of the Tualatin Rural Fire Protection District prior to the merger that yielded Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue in 1989. In the past, the City of Wilsonville also used buildings on the site for a city hall annex, city council meetings, traffic court and vehicle maintenance.

The location is ideal from a response perspective, but the original combined fire station and office space had major structural and design deficiencies, and was undersized for today’s emergency operations staffing and equipment needs. Seismic concerns were also significant and would have required millions of dollars to correct. Additionally, the Fire District was leasing commercial space in Tualatin for its South Operating Center. Combing the fire station and office space enabled the District to terminate the lease – a cost savings of approximately $87,000 a year.

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. It finished on time and within the budgeted $5.6 million. Over the life of the bond, the average cost to the typical homeowner is approximately $29 per year.