Plans to add more showers at the Longview Fire Department’s 38th Avenue station will put firefighters “back in service quicker to respond to emergency calls,” Longview Fire Chief Jim Kambeitz said about an upcoming remodel.
The work — scheduled to begin in two weeks — will decrease lag time between when firefighters are waiting to wash up after returning from a call and responding to the next emergency.
The remodel is expected to be completed in about six months. Crews cannot go to another call until they shower and wash their gear to decontaminate from the carcinogens that land on them during fires, Kambeitz said. While crews wait to wash up, other firefighters — possibly farther away from incidents — may have to respond to a call, he said.