The new Freeland fire station doesn’t have a shiny brass pole for firefighters to slide down or a resident Dalmatian dog.

But what Island County Fire District 3’s newest facility does have is sleeping quarters for six firefighters, a spacious kitchen and living room, a training room, several offices and bays to accommodate four fire trucks.

For South Whidbey fire stations, this is as good as it gets.

“This station has been 10 years in the making,” said FD3 Chief Don Smith Monday. “It was intentionally built with more space than we currently need in an attempt to meet future needs, 10 and 20 years down the line.”

Recently, Smith and the district’s administrative assistant, Paula Schuler, moved their offices from the district’s Bayview fire station to Freeland.

The new station, on Cameron Road about a block south of Highway 525, has nearly 8,000 square feet including the fire engine bays.

Smith said he is proud the district was able to bankroll the $1.1 million project without floating a special tax levy. The building was paid for with funds saved from regular operating budgets over the years.

One of the reasons behind building the new station to replace the old one on Harbor Avenue was to provide overnight facilities for a 24-hour response force. Volunteer firefighters can now stay at the station for long shifts, eating, sleeping and working from the building.

Though facilities like those at the new station are more common in paid professional departments, the district does not currently have plans to expand its paid staff. At present, the district has four paid employees, including the chief, an assistant chief, a resource captain and an administrative assistant. The district also stipends four officers at $650 each per month.

The district does have plans for expanding its facilities. A central station and training facility is expected to be built on 20 acres of property on Thompson Road sometime in the future, but the project is stalled for the time being.

In all, the district operates seven fire stations with 129 volunteers. The station count will drop to six the Bush Point Fire Station closes on Oct. 31. The district is responsible for fire protection for 65 square miles on South Whidbey.

Seated in his office in the new station, Smith said he is impressed with the district’s growth over the years, and the fact that the majority of its work is done by volunteers.

“Our volunteers are extremely dedicated to protecting people and property in the district,” he said. “They give a lot of their own time for drills and to stay current with equipment.”

Smith said there are about 26,000 other volunteer fire districts in the nation and about 1,065,000 volunteers firefighters. Currently, 73 percent of all firefighters are volunteers. In all, 55 percent of the people in the United States depend on volunteer fire protection, Smith said.