Once new 911 dispatch center rises, Bellingham fire station’s demolition is next
A 70-year-old former fire station that houses Whatcom County’s 911 dispatch center is being torn down this summer and will be replaced with a new building that’s almost double in size.
Bellingham City Council members unanimously approved a $12.8 million contract for the What-Comm dispatchers’ new Sunnyland neighborhood headquarters on Feb. 9.
Councilman Dan Hammill said the aging 911 center “has outlived its useful life” and must be replaced.
It has electrical troubles and problems with its heating and air conditioning systems that make it an unpleasant workplace, Hammill said in a Dec. 15 committee meeting where financing for the project was discussed.
“I can tell you that this is very much needed. The current facility that houses the workers that take your 911 calls when you’re having the worst day of your life, are crammed in there. There was attrition and part of it was attributed to the fact that they were boxed into this old building,” Hammill said.
Construction of the new building is slated for this summer, in the parking lot behind the current dispatch center, Public Works Department spokeswoman Torhill Ramsay told The Herald.
Total project cost is about $15.7 million, including design and permitting, and it will be paid for through a sale of up to $19 million in bonds approved by the City Council. About $1 million of its cost is funded through a state Department of Commerce grant, Ramsay said in an email.
“The city is issuing the bond, (but) the cost of the facility is not borne solely by the city. What-Comm is a regional emergency communications system that serves 10 local law-enforcement agencies. It is funded entirely by those user agencies, including the city, based on an established cost-sharing formula tied to system use. Bond repayment costs for the new facility will be allocated among all participating agencies using that same formula. In other words, each agency will pay its proportional share of the construction costs beginning in 2027,” Ramsay said.
What-comm’s current 4,500-square-foot offices will remain in operation through the project. It will be torn down once the new 8,000-square-foot building is finished.
“The new building will be climate resilient for heat, cold, smoke and other severe weather. It will include redundant and reliable systems for public safety (backup power, earthquake, security, etc.) as well as a radio tower to support communications and radio equipment. The building is also designed with employee health and wellness in mind which helps facilitate employee retainage and reduce the operational costs of turnover,” according to a Feb. 9 city report.
What-Comm dispatchers fielded 210,608 telephone calls in 2025, including 96,918 non-emergency calls.
The center is housed in the former Bellingham Fire Station No. 4 at 620 Alabama St., which opened in 1954 and was replaced by a new station at 2306 Yew St. in 1988.
What-Comm, which provides police dispatch services countywide, moved out of the Whatcom County Courthouse to its current location at the corner of Iron and Alabama streets in 1989.
All 911 calls go to the What-Comm center, but dispatchers there only handle law-enforcement emergencies. Requests for medical aid and fire department services are routed to dispatchers at Bellingham Fire Station 1 on Broadway. Fire dispatch is referred to as “Prospect” over the radio because the original Fire Station 1 was at 201 Prospect St., next to what is now the Whatcom Museum.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 8:47 AM.
