Work is nearly complete on a new North Whidbey Fire and Rescue station at the corner of Troxell and Monkey Hill roads.

The $1.5-million station replaces one built out of cinder blocks by volunteers in 1962. That station was in such bad shape the fire department stopped pressure washing it because the mortar was coming loose.

The new station includes three bays, space for firefighters to bunk 24-7 and room to expand. It’s also built to be self-sufficient with generators and the like if the island experiences a major catastrophe such as a devastating earthquake.

North Whidbey doesn’t plan to staff this station full-time but may in the future, said chief Mike Brown.

“It’s a possibility — it’s set up for that,” he said. “You always build stations for 50 to 75 years into the future.”

He’d like to start talking about whether the district should employee paid full-time firefighters along with volunteers.

The district’s call volume continues to increase — they respond to about six calls a day — and he expects that number to continue to climb as the local population ages and more people move to the area for the Navy.

The district is a volunteer force that does pay some of its members a small hourly rate. Two of its stations — one on Taylor Road in the north and one at Monroe Landing in the south — are staffed all the time. But the rest of the district’s stations house equipment only.

The project stayed on budget and the district managed to pay entirely with cash — nearly unheard of for a project of this size.

It took five years for the fire district to wend its way through all the permits to build, since a wetland is located on the project.

North Whidbey Fire District serves unincorporated areas of North Whidbey stretching from Deception Pass Bridge to Libbey Road.