Historic firetrucks from Everett Fire Department stand polished in front of the historic HQ at 2801 Oakes Ave.
Photo by Amy Gilbert McGrath
EVERETT — On June 25, the Everett Fire Department marked the 100th anniversary of Fire Station No. 2 with a public open house, station tour and complimentary lunch at its 2801 Oakes Ave. location.
Established in 1892, Everett Fire operated Fire Station No. 2 as an active station from 1925 to 1992 at Oakes Avenue and California Street. Today, it serves as the department’s headquarters. Originally built out of necessity after a fire engulfed much of the city in 1924, the station has been upgraded to modern standards while maintaining its original beauty.
“In December of 1924, Everett Fire went to the citizens of Everett with a $50,000 levy to build two replacement stations for the two stations that were here at the time. Lucky for us, the citizens approved it, and very quickly, things started happening,” Everett Fire Analyst Cindy Dean said in a tour at the event.
Plans for the building were drafted by architects Morrison & Stimson by the end of January 1925 and a contractor was chosen in February. Fire Station No. 2 was completed by builder Solie & Wahl just five months later in July for $22,157, which in today’s money would be approximately $407,342.
Historic Everett describes that “the building is trapezoidal, not rectangular in plan, and has a full basement. Behind is a hose tower, which suggests an Italian Renaissance motif at the top.” The nonprofit history group notes “the upstairs had a dormitory, two bedrooms, showers, and a lounge. Of course, a fire pole was used to drop down to the main floor.” The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990 under Mayor Bill Moore.
Approximately 50 people attended the event’s kick-off, which was followed by a guided tour led by Dean. Dean calls herself the ‘unofficial’ historian for the department and spent about a month preparing articles, documents, historic photographs and firefighting antiques to be on display for the celebration.
Children and adults enjoyed viewing and climbing into the cabs of the fire trucks parked outside.
“We are residents here, so we support the fire department. I have three kids, and we like fire trucks and firemen, and we are super excited to see the old building and ride on some trucks,” said Everett resident Raelynne Scott at the event.
Scott said her favorite part was getting to talk with the firefighters and the feeling of community the event had. “We’re all working together to hopefully make Everett and Snohomish County better and safer for our kids,” Scott said.
Everett’s firefighters operate from six fire stations, utilizing six fire engines, two ladder trucks, three to four aid units, three medic units, one medical services officer, and one battalion chief command unit. The department also maintains specialized teams for Hazardous Materials, Technical Rescue, Rescue Swimmers, Marine responses, and Wildland responses.
Everett Fire will be featured in the Downtown Everett Fourth of July parade which starts at 11 a.m., driving their antique trucks and a restored horse-drawn 1906 Ahrens-Fox “Continental” Steamer, acquired by the city in 1907, along with modern vehicles.
The Everett Public Library Northwest History Room Archives has a collection of Everett Fire History at https://cdm16709.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16709coll5/search. Eighty-three records have been digitized to access anytime, including “The Fire Boys: 100 years of Everett Firefighting History,” Charles Z. Henderson’s book published in 1992.
