FIRE STATION #15 2120 E Wellesley

SPOKANE FIRE STATION #15

Spokane Fire Department (SFD) Station 15 proudly serves the historical Hillyard District. The current station was constructed in 1961 with several additions and modifications over the years. Station 15 houses Engine 15, an Advanced Life Support Engine with a crew of (3) three that responds to medical emergencies, structure fires, and various types of service calls. The crew staffing Engine 15 also cross-staffs Brush 15, a wildland specific apparatus that responds to wildland fires and urban interface. An Alternative Response Unit, ARU 15, is staffed with a crew of (2) two and responds to lower acuity medical calls and service calls in North Spokane. The Hillyard District is largely residential and commercial with an urban interface and wildland component in the western slopes of Beacon Hill. The members of Station 15 take great pride in their district and provide a high level of professionalism and compassion to its citizens.

Station 15 is (1) one of (2) two stations that comprise SFD’s Technical Rescue Team, who respond to high-angle, confined space, and low-angle rescue calls within the city.

Station 15 Phone - (509) 625-7115

Spokane Fire Administration - (509) 625-7000

STATION 15 HISTORY

Station No. 15 was originally located at 3009 E. Olympic, serving the small railroad community of Hillyard. The modest structure first served as Hillyard City Hall and the city jail. In 1924, Hillyard was annexed into the City of Spokane, and subsequently the building was re-purposed as a single fire station, Station No. 15.

Hillyard was built around the Great Northern Railroad hub. The town was the manufacturing center for Great Northern, and produced the largest, heaviest and most powerful steam locomotives in the world. Working with heavy equipment and machinery did not go without risk. Fires of varying sizes were common, and professionally trained fire personnel were the means of preventing disaster. Because the yards transported goods all across the Pacific Northwest, any catastrophe would have a ripple effect on the region.

One such example demonstrated the need for a well-trained fire department in Hillyard. Just after midnight on May 26, 1901, a fire with unknown origins broke out in the Great Northern coal chutes. Within thirty minutes, the entire 400 foot building was enveloped in smoke and flames. An effort to save surrounding buildings was now the focus of the firefighters. After two hours and “constant work,” firefighters had the blaze under control and prevented it from spreading. After the fire was suppressed, additional overhaul was needed. The coal stored in the pockets of the chute fell down on both the S.F. & N. and Great Northern tracks in a “seething furnace” of burning coal, burying the tracks to a depth of 10-15 feet. It took firefighters a full day to clear the tracks so that traffic could resume.

By Caitlin M. Shain , “Spokane Fire Station No. 15: Fire, Steel, and Coal,” Spokane Historical, accessed May 4, 2021, https://spokanehistorical.org/items/show/452.