A Washoe County-run fire station in the south Truckee Meadows is on schedule to be built by Thanksgiving of 2017, Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Charles Moore said. Moore gave an update Tuesday to the Board of Fire Commissioners about plans to move Station 14 from near the intersection of Damonte Parkway and South Virginia Street 2 miles north to Foothill Road and South Virginia Street.
The current location, on Old Virginia Road, was in the unincorporated area when it was built 30 years ago, but the city of Reno has since expanded around it, Moore said in an interview. The new location will be closer to unincorporated land.
More importantly, the current station is falling apart, Moore said. The firetruck bays frequently flood when it rains.
In the Truckee Meadows, there is also Station 36 at Arrowcreek and Station 39 at Galena. There are two stations in Washoe Valley and the rest are north and west of Reno.
The fire protection district has an agreement to respond to fires within Reno city limits but Moore said moving this station would not affect Reno coverage because that area is not included in the agreement.
The fire protection district has no ladder trucks and the new station would be home to one of the district's two new ladder trucks, the other being posted north of Reno. If it is built to hold four vehicles it might also have a regular fire engine, an engine built for fighting brush fires in rugged terrain and a truck to haul water for fire engines.