The construction of a new fire station on Orcas Island may be impeded by the very influence that defines its need: inclement weather.

Planning for a new fire station in Deer Harbor has been ongoing since 2007. After years of community input, land use considerations, design, and permit applications, the OIFD Board of Commissioners is ready to put the project out to bidders.

On Tuesday, Aug. 11 commissioners held a pre-bid job walk at the site of the new station, 13 Legend Lane in Deer Harbor. Eight Orcas building companies and one mainland company attended. Attendance was required by OIFD for any company to be eligible to bid.

Several contractors expressed doubts that the project could be completed in six months with the winter weather just around the corner.

One contractor present at the job walk said, “The bid specification that the station needs to be built in 165 days isn’t possible on the island. On the islands here, it is really hard to do that, especially going into the rainy part of the year.”

Based on builders’ input, the commissioners moved in a public meeting Tuesday night to not only give contractors until Sept. 1 to submit their bids, but to also remove the completion requirement from the bid specifications.

Fire Chief Mike Harris is anxious to get the building up and functioning. Winter problems like power outages, frozen roads, and rock slides could leave the Deer Harbor area without help from responders.

“I do lose sleep not having a tanker truck down in this area,” Harris said. “We feel that the Deer Harbor community especially is pretty vulnerable in the case of an earthquake or if a lot of trees fall across the road, or any sort of condition that wipes out the roads.”

The Deer Harbor station would be a “stand alone” station, which means that fire and EMS personnel will be able to operate out of the station independently of the Eastsound fire hall. Most Orcas stations are not equipped for personnel to operate from them for an extended period of time.

“A lot of our stations don’t even have a simple bathroom facility,” Harris said.

Designed to look like a barn, the station will be outfitted with a new truck, a new tanker, and an ambulance with storage above that will someday will be used as a dormitory. There will also be a training room for department use only. Plans include two 12-foot by 12-foot doors on each end, a water catchment, septic, and drought-resistant landscaping. Several evergreens, one oak tree, and an existing shed will be removed.

As two weeks of summer days pass, builders will be preparing their bids to construct the Deer Harbor station. Bids will be opened at a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 4:30 p.m. The bid will be awarded to the contractor at the regular BOC meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

The district has had $700,000 earmarked for the station in its “Capital Projects Fund” since 1999 when a special tax levy was passed.

“The money is already in the bank for this facility,” Harris said.