Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated 5/19/2025
Project Overview
Why is a new fire station needed?
Built in 1971, the South Shore Fire Station has reached the end of its useful life. While the fire department has extended the life of the station through strategic investments, the facility is not seismically safe.
What is the community benefit of a new station?
Having four strategically located fire stations in Lake Oswego directly benefits the community by ensuring rapid, 24/7 emergency response city-wide. This system guarantees that critical life safety calls are typically answered in under 8 minutes because all resources are shared across the city. If one station is unavailable, others immediately step in, ensuring continuous protection. This collaborative network, supported by all four stations, including South Shore, is essential for maintaining these fast response times across Lake Oswego, providing residents with reliable and timely emergency services during critical situations.
How does this new fire station fit into the overall emergency services plan for Lake Oswego?
City Council has prioritized the goal of “ensure a safe, secure, and prepared community,” which includes preparing our city operations and facilities for long-term resiliency. South Shore Fire Station provides a vital redundancy for major incidents and continued emergency response even in potential disaster scenarios causing areas of isolation due to impassable roads or bridges.
The City previously talked about closing South Shore Fire Station. What changed?
In the last year, the South Shore Task Force have critically analyzed our response time data and overall call volume to determine whether or not a fourth station is needed. The response data overwhelmingly supports the Task Force findings that removing South Shore would increase response time. The South Shore Fire Station is an integral part of Lake Oswego Fire Department’s ability to maintain the high level of response and consistent compliance to standard best practice response times (8 minutes or less for all critical calls.)
What are the next steps?
Staff are currently entering the contracting process for an architect to begin design concepts. Having design concepts will help determine the project cost.
How can I get updates on the project?
Subscribe to the project email updates, or follow us on social media.
Bond & Financing
What is the estimated cost of the project?
We are actively working with our design team to develop a detailed cost estimate for the project. We will share those estimates as soon as they are finalized.
How will the project be paid for?
The City is considering a general obligation bond to pay for the project. Bonds are a funding mechanism for replacing capital facilities and equipment. This is a crucial investment that will be brought before the voters for their consideration.
The Task Force report estimated the project could cost up to $18 million. Is that accurate?
During the Task Force’s research work, they found 15 comparable fire station projects that they used to estimate a project cost. This project estimate was only based on the average cost per square foot of constructing these fire stations. This cost was not based on our actual project, including transition costs.
Now, we are doing a careful check to get a real budget for our project. This process includes contracting for professional services: first, an owner's representative and architect to create preliminary facility designs, and subsequently, a general contractor or cost consultant to generate a detailed, line-item cost estimate specific to our project.
Can the community donate to the new fire station project?
The City appreciates your interest in supporting the new fire station! We are currently determining how the community can contribute to the project. We welcome your creative ideas!