JOYCE — An expanded fire station for Clallam County Fire Protection District 4 is expected to be open by Christmas after construction begins by the end of March.

A ground-breaking ceremony at 51162 state Highway 112 drew some 50 to 60 community members, said San Nugent, vice chair of the fire district commission.

“It was a great turnout,” Nugent said.

Chief Greg Waters was introduced and a bell was rung in memory of Terry Wayne Barnett, a fire commissioner and longtime Joyce volunteer who died on Sept. 13, 2022 at the age of 74.

“We’re hoping to be finished by October but the snow and rain are delaying things,” Nugent said Wednesday.

Station 41 at 51250 state Highway 112 is 4,089 square feet including equipment bays, office space and conference area. The new construction will be 5,162 square feet for the equipment and about 5,000 square feet for the administration building.

A new equipment bay will be built next to the administration building to ensure that the emergency responders — three active paramedics and some 30 volunteers — will have what they need.

”We have the best emergency response,” Nugent said. “More than four people show up on every single call.”

Construction costs have been estimated at approximately $2 million, so after realizing the building committee had sourced nearly $1.3 million, the board agreed to authorize a special state bond for the balance of $700,000 to be paid over 10 years at about 4 percent interest. The board and building committee are expecting to be able to pay off the bond early, Nugent said.

Station 41 has been put up for sale to offset some of the building costs. As of this week, an offer is pending, Nugent said.

Local residents also have donated. Among the major donors are the Gosset Foundation, in memory of Mary Pfaff-Pierce, an attorney who owned Joyce General Store, Joyce Art & Antiques and the Joyce Fitness Center with her husband Leonard, who died in November; Jim and Donna Buck, recipients of the 2018 Clallam County Community Service Award and honorees by FEMA, the governor and the state’s emergency management division; Trevor Baar, manager of We Do Dirt of Arlington, in memory of Dave Erickson, late commissioner; and Dan Peacock, who recently filled Barnett’s position on the commission.

“We’d also like to thank the many people and organizations who have graciously given to this project,” Nugent said.

The expanded station was born out of concern for a possible massive quake. The 800-mile Cascadia subduction zone off the Pacific Coast, which stretches from southern British Columbia to Northern California, spawns massive earthquakes an average of once every 200 to 500 years, with the last in about 1700. Officials say it is not if, but when the next major quake will occur.

In 2015, the newly formed Joyce Emergency Preparation and Planning (JEPP) group presented its findings that the likelihood of a massive Pacific megaquake was very high and asked the district to be part of the disaster preparedness planning.

The board of commissioners considered how to ensure that the district had adequate shelter for the first response apparatus, emergency responders, district-wide incident command operations and administrative functions. The building committee was formed in 2017.

The first idea was to build a new headquarters and training center at the Freshwater Bay site, Station 42, located at 55922 Highway 112, however the board decided that any new facility should be located in the Joyce central area, Nugent said.

After an unfunded study in 2017, the board determined that the existing unreinforced cinder block structure of Station 41 would not survive an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude or greater.

So the following spring, the building committee considered, then rejected, the idea of refurbishing Station 41, Nugent said.

Some commissioners were adamantly opposed to any debt financing, so plans were put on hold until the issue went to the voters, who approved a levy lid lift in 2019.

The Latter-Day Saints sold the district its church building, which was appraised at $607,951, for $330,000.

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Executive Editor Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3530 or at leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.