The upgrades include adding six sleeping quarters, two storage rooms and laundry facilities, and updating the kitchen and day room.
The station is one of two operated by the district. The other is in Bow.
The district serves about 4,000 residents in a 25-square-mile area along Interstate 5. It runs from the Whatcom County border south to the Samish River.
Chief David Skrinde, the only full-time staff member of the district, said some of the district’s 28 volunteer firefighters are local residents on call at home for weekend and overnight shifts, and some are out-of-area residents who staff daytime shifts.
The district has been hoping for years to be able to staff the station overnight in order to improve volunteer retention and to better serve residents of the district.
“It will give us the ability in the future to house people here through residency programs, where folks live at the fire station,” Skrinde said. “It is their home, and in return for getting free rent, they have to go on calls, working so many hours for the fire district. To do that, you need sleeping quarters.”
Construction at the Alger station began in late January and is expected to completed in July.
“We’re just excited that we broke ground and that things are moving along,” Skrinde said.
The district laid the financial groundwork for the upgrades when it asked voters in 2019 to increase the rate on fire district levy, which voters approved.
More recently, the district secured a $1.1 million low-interest loan from the state Treasurer’s Office. That will help keep down the long-term cost of the project.
“There’s a benefit to taxpayers that we will pay less over time,” Skrinde said.
“My office is always looking to take advantage of our strong credit and low-interest rate environment to create savings for the people of Washington, especially locally, so communities can save their tax dollars for other local needs,” State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti said in the release.