North Bend’s long-awaited new fire station, a joint venture with Fire District 38, could be under construction soon. Kirtley-Cole Associates (www.kirtley-cole.com), an Everett firm that has recently completed two new fire stations for the City of Seattle, was awarded the construction contract for the new fire station June 5.

Kirtley-Cole’s bid of $4,084,000 was the apparent low bid of the seven proposals the city received. The contract amount includes a contingency of 2.5 percent, and falls well within the $4.5 million in revenues the project has through the sale of bonds that voters in both districts approved last February.

Ryan Rantz, an estimator with Kirtley-Cole, noted that although his company is known for it’s LEED-certified fire stations, Fire station 87 did not have LEED qualifications as part of the contract requirements. He anticipated that work would begin on the North Bend station soon, saying “Our understanding is we’re going to break ground in the middle of July.”

The new station will be located on North Bend Way and will feature a public, handicapped-accessible lobby, and drive-through access for emergency vehicles. It will also offer more seismic stability, and improved living quarters for the full-time and volunteer firefighters that will use it.