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New Safety And Emergency Facility Slated For Southwest Oregon Regional Airport

Robert Brittsan
/
Coos County Airport District

The only commercial airport on the Oregon Coast has received a hefty grant to build a new rescue and fire-fighting station.

$6.5 million from the Federal Aviation Administration will support the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport’s project.  The current facility isn’t big enough to house a new truck. 

Congressman Peter DeFazio chairs the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.  He says this has all been overdue for some time.

Credit Robert Brittsan / Coos County Airport District
/
Coos County Airport District
Mock-up of planned Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting building once completed.

“The building in which they were housing the equipment, 75 years old, it’s infested with mold, it can’t be rehabilitated," says DeFazio. 

"And they were parking as they could in hangars, or sometimes just leaving the equipment outside. Not good in a coastal environment.  And it’ll certainly help with the prospect of life and safety at that airport.”

Located in North Bend, the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport has United Airlines flights, including a direct route to Denver that begins next month.

Copyright 2019, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
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