Thurston County Fire District No. 4

== History==
Thurston County Fire District No. 4 was also known as the Rainier Fire District. 
On September 9th, 1952, a Special Election was held to determine if Thurston County Fire Protection District No. 4 should be formed. The votes were cast in favor of forming the district, with 312 votes in favor of and 20 votes against the formation of the district. The district was officially formed on September 29th, 1952. Upon it's formation, the district served 27mi2 of land.
In August of 1972, at the request of local residents, approximately 8mi2 was annexed into Rainier Fire District 4. The land was previously unprotected by any fire district, and was located to the southeast of McIntosh Lake and south of Rainier.Board of County Commissioners (1972). Resolution #4406. Laserfiche Weblink.
In 1973, the Board of Fire Commissioners submitted a ballot title to the Thurston County Auditor to have a special election on September 18th to be held in conjunction with the county primary election. The special election made the proposition of authorizing an excess levy to raise an additional $29,000 to fund the construction and furnishing a stationProposition No. 1. The Olympian. Sep. 12, 1973 (Page 8). Newspapers.com. in Vail to better serve the area annexed in 1972 in the Vail/Johnson Creek areas. The proposition was approved by voters, with 60 "yes" votes and 33 "no" votes. 
In 1975, residents in the McIntosh Lake area filed petitions with the Board of County Commissioners to be merged from the service of Rainier Fire District 4 and into the service of Tenino Fire District 12,Board of County Commissioners (1975). August 4, 1975 Meeting Minutes (Page 1). Laserfiche Weblink. citing that Tenino had responded to calls in the McIntosh Lake area faster than Rainier had on several occasions. This measure was initially approved by the Board of County Commissioners, though it was soon reverted to Rainier.
In late 1977, the Board of Fire Commissioners submitted a ballot title to the Thurston County Auditor to have a special election on February 7th, 1978. The special election made the proposition of authorizing a special tax levy to raise $48,000 to equip the district's 2 new stations.Proposition No. 1. The Olympian. Feb. 1, 1978 (Page 3). Newspapers.com. The proposition was approved by voters, with 138 "yes" votes and 28 "no" votes.
In February of 1996, the Rainier Town Council approved a $350,000 lease purchase of 2 new Freightliner / Pierce engines. The lease was done through the Town Council rather than through the Fire District as the district's tax income was not high enough to qualify for the lease.Rainier may consider leasing two fire trucks. The Olympian. Feb. 13, 1996 (Page 17). Newspapers.com. The funds also allowed for both of the 1977 White / FD-Built tenders to be upgraded from 1,000 gallon tanks to 2,500 gallon tanks. Around the time the new Freightliner / Pierce engines were delivered, the district was responding to ~500 calls annually.
The City of Rainier was voted to be annexed into the Rainier Fire District in 1999 with 574 'yes' votes and 152 'no' votes.Thurston County Auditor's Office (1999). November 2, 1999 Primary Election Results (Page 5). Thurston County Election Archive. 
In 2001 Rainier Fire District 4 & Bald Hills Fire District 17 consolidated with Yelm Fire District 2, forming S.E. Thurston Fire & EMS, which amalgamated the 3 districts into 1 acting agency, though all 3 still existing in legal capacity in terms of filing for bonds, electing commissioners, proposing tax levy lifts, ect.
In May of 2007, residents within the McIntosh Ridge area petitioned to be annexed into the district, totaling about 2.5 square miles.Thurston County Auditor's Office (2007). Thurston County Fire District #4 Resolution #2007-05 (File #3946856). Recorded Jul. 31, 2007. EagleWeb.Thurston County Auditor's Office (2000).Survey #3309770 (File #3309770). Recorded Aug. 21, 2000. EagleWeb. 
On Feb. 9 2010 Yelm Fire District 2, Rainier Fire District 4 and the City of Yelm held a special election, voting in favor of creating a Regional Fire Protection Service AuthorityThurston County Auditor's Office (2010). February 9, 2010 Special Election Results. Thurston County Election Archive. with 2,070 'yes' votes and 2,019 'no' votes. This authority was officially formed in 2010 and named the S.E. Thurston Fire Authority.
===Fire Stations ===
Station Number	Station Name	Address 	In Service	Notes
41 	Rainier 	102 Dakota Street South, Rainier	19??-2005 	Information varies on when the station was built. One source claims 1948, while another claims it was 1954/55.Rainier fire hall progress update. The Olympian. Jul. 1, 1954 (Page 13). Newspapers.com. by the Town of Rainier to house the Rainier Fire Department and Rainier Town Hall. The Town Hall moved to a new site in 1990, leaving Fire District 4 as the sole occupant. The district purchased the building from the Town in 2006 as the Town didn;t want to pay for its demolition, which was required when the station on 133rd Avenue was completed.
41 	Rainier 	12506 133rd Avenue SE, Rainier 	2006-2010 	Former Thurston County gravel pit, land sold to the district in 1999.Thurston County Building Department (1999). Project Narrative. Thurston County Fire District #4 (Page 9). Laserfiche Weblink. Fire Station 41 was a volunteer station until 2009 when a 1,750 square foot modular building was added in late 2009, as call volumne analazations showed that staffing should be reprioritized from the Lake Lawrence station to the Rainier station.Became S.E. Thurston Fire Authority Station 24.
42 	McIntosh 	14847 Military Road SE, McIntosh	1977-2006 	Fire Station 42 was built on land purchased from the Weyerhaeuser Logging Company for $500 effective on 5/19/1976.Thurston County Auditor's Office (1976). Warranty Deed (File #974461). EagleWeb. Opened 9/1/1977 as a volunteer staffed station until the mid 1990's when a modular building was constructed on site allowing for volunteer resident staffing until 2006 when the modular building on site was demolished and the station was closed due to a lack of volunteers. Became S.E. Thurston Fire Authority Station 25.
43 	Vail 	17044 Muskrat Drive SE, Rainier 	1978-2007 	Fire Station 43 was built in 1978 on land purchased from Jack P. Shipley for $1 effective on 10/16/1973.Thurston County Auditor's Office (1973). Statuary Warranty Deed (File #900104). Eagleweb. 2 additional apparatus bays were added in 1984Thurston County Building Department (1984). Permit 24054-B. Issued Mar. 22, 1984. Laserfiche Weblink. as many volunteers lived in the Vail area, so having more apparatus would improve services. Closed prior to merger due to lack of volunteers to staff the station. This station briefly saw used a storage facility for the district prior to it being leased out privately to the neighboring garage door company.Became S.E. Thurston Fire Authority Station 26.
Rainier Station 24.jpg|Station 41
McIntosh Station 25.jpg|Station 42
Station 26.jpg|Station 43
Station 42 Satellite Imagery .png|Station 42 Satellite Imagery
==Apparatus==
 
:2004 HME Ahrens-Fox Spectr pumper (1500/1000) (Ex-Engine 41)
:2003 Ford E-450 / North Star ambulance(Ex-Thurston County Medic One, acquired 2008)
:1996 Freightliner FL 70 / Pierce Responder pumper (1250/750) (SN#EA189-02) (Ex-Engine 43)
:1996 Freightliner FL 70 / Pierce Responder pumper (1250/750) (SN#EA189-01) (Ex-Engine 412, ex-Engine 42)
:1994 Ford ambulance (Ex-Aid 41)
:1983 brush (Ex-Brush 41)
:1982 utility (Ex-Utility 41)
:1978 Ford F-800 / Western States front-mount pumper (Ex-Engine 412, ex-Engine 41)
:1978 Ford E-350 ambulance (Ex-Thurston County Medic One, acquired 1982)
:1977 White / 1993 FD-Built tender (500/2500) (Ex-Tender 42)
: 1977 White / 1993 FD-Built tender (500/2500) (Ex-Tender 43)
:1977 Ford F brush (Ex-Brush 43)
:1968 Jeep M715 brush (Ex-Jeep 41)
:1965 International / Western States pumper (750/750) (Ex-Engine 43, ex-Engine 42) (Ex-South Bay Fire Department (Washington))
:1959 Ford F-750 / Western States pumper (750/1000) (Ex-Engine 42, ex-Engine 41) (First new apparatus, purchased for $15k)
:1952 GMC M211 / FD-Built tanker (Ex-Tender 41) (Ex-US Military, acquired ca. 1970) (Sold 1993?)
:194? Dodge WC-54 4x4 ambulance (Ex-Aid 43) (Retired 1982)
:193? tanker
:1924 Ford pumper (Retired 1959)
South East Thurston Fire Authority 2004 HME 1871 P2 cab and chassis. HME Silverfox body.jpg|Engine 41
S.E. Thurston Fire Authority 1996 Freightliner FL70 - Pierce Engine 241.jpg|Engine 41
==External Links==
*S.E. Thurston Fire Authority / Wayback Machine Internet Archive - 2014
*Fire-EMS Newtork Rainier Fire District Apparatus - 2000
==References==
==District Map==
Thurston County Fire District No. 04
Category:Former operators of HME Ahrens-Fox apparatus
Category:Former operators of Pierce apparatus