It’s often only seconds that stand in the way of a family’s home burning to the ground or a gunman firing off more rounds in a crowded mall.
Precious seconds are lost if firefighters have to race downstairs from a sleeping dorm to jump into a fire engine. Or a patrol officer has been called off the streets to clear a restroom and then wait outside the door for a man on trial at City Hall.
No doubt, the city of Tukwila’s population has more than doubled since City Hall was built in 1977, where Municipal Court and part of the Police Department are housed. The Police Department uses extensive space at the 6300 building next door.
Three of the city’s four fire stations are even older.
The city has grown while its departments that keep its citizens and businesses safe – the police, the fire, the courts and public works – have been held together partly by the ingenuity of city employees making due with what they have.
Three issues arise when key employees talk about the state of their workplaces: Inefficient, ineffective and at times a risk to the public.
Facilities on the Valley floor, including the city’s main fire station and a public-works shop, are at risk in a major earthquake.