The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON - Columbia County Fire District 3 and Columbia REA announced last week that REA has sold its shop, warehouse and property at 115 Patit Road to the district. The deal closed on February 7. According to the Columbia County Asses­sor's Office, the building and just over four acres sold for $850,000.

In a press release, District 3 Fire Chief Rick Turner said, "The REA building is better designed to meet the current and future needs of our Fire Department and its responsibilities." The release indicated that the district is also concerned about potential flooding at its cur­rent location on West Main Street, near the Touchet River Bridge.

The Fire District has list­ed its Main Street building and property for sale with an asking price of $425,000.

Columbia REA has be­gun work on constructing a new shop facility on Patit Road on property it retained just east of its current shop. The Co-op will continue to occupy its current shop facility until the new shop is completed, sometime this summer.

"The new facility will provide the opportunity to install advanced technolo­gies for improving service to (Columbia REA's) expand­ing membership," the press release said.

The Fire District plans to begin renovation of the Patit Road building as soon as REA moves out. Chief Turn­er said the district hopes to move into the facility by the end of the year. The district is working with an architect on the remodel design.

"The new station will allow us to have 24/7 staff­ing," Turner said in a phone interview. "We will have a complete crew quarters for the first time."

Turner said that a second- floor area in the new fire station will include sleeping quarters, kitchen, shower, day room and a weight and exercise facility.

He also said that the dis­trict will be relieved of wor­ries about potential flooding. "In an emergency, we need to be focused on protecting other people's property, not our own," he said.