Firefighters to conduct training at state building Dec. 3-7

December 3, 2012

Capitol Campus Update

OLYMPIA – Firefighters from the Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey fire departments will conduct training drills from Dec. 3 through 7 at the state-owned "IBM" building at the northwest corner of Maple Park Avenue and Capitol Way.

The building, which was constructed in 1958 for the IBM Corporation, is in the process of being demolished. It is in poor condition and the cost to bring it up to modern building codes exceeds the value of the structure.

There will be no smoke or flames as part of the training. A fence will be put up around the building prior to the start of the training.

Once the fire departments complete their training the site will be turned over to a construction contractor to tear down the two-story, 14,200-square-foot building. The site will then be filled and grass planted on top of it.

The state bought the building in 1975 and used it until February 2011, when the Employment Security Department moved employees who worked there to another building at 10th Avenue and Columbia Street in Olympia.

The project is scheduled to be complete in January 2013.

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