Bowers Mansion Fire Station in Washoe Valley Was Permanently Closed After a Bat Infestation

NEVADA – After a bat infestation this summer, Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue authorities decided to permanently close the Bowers Mansion fire station in Washoe Valley.

Last month, the board of fire commissioners approved the closure of Station 30, one of two fire stations serving rural Washoe Valley between Reno and Carson City.

After a bat infestation, one of Washoe Valley’s fire stations was permanently shuttered.

According to Chief Charles Moore of News 4-Fox 11, TMFR has intended to merge the two Washoe Valley stations and establish a new one since 2019, but the bat infestation has accelerated the process.

Station 30 was permanently closed because it was projected that repairing the structure would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Because the repair of that building would possibly cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we were intending on abandoning it anyhow,” Moore explained.

Until a new fire station is completed in adjacent Washoe City, all Washoe Valley residents will be served by the Eastlake fire station on the valley’s east side, which is nearly a 10-minute drive from the Bowers station.

Moore recognized that response times will be longer for homeowners on the west and south ends of Washoe Valley, but added that TMFR has a mutual aid agreement with the Carson City Fire Department, so Carson City crews can respond to those areas of the valley if necessary. He also stated that TMFR has added an ambulance to the Eastlake fire station, Station 32.

The Nevada Division of Forestry, which owns the Bowers Mansion station building, has been advised that TMFR will be abandoning it at the end of the year. According to Moore, NDF intends to staff the building with a wildland crew in the future.

TMFR has already purchased a block of property in Washoe City for the new fire station. 0 White Pelican Way will be the address. Moore believes that building will begin in late summer 2023 and that it will be completed in roughly two years.

Credits: My News 4