Kalispell to get new fire station

The Daily Inter Lake

Plans for a second fire station on the north end of Kalispell are right on track this morning, after voters on Tuesday approved a $3 million bond request.

The construction bond passed by a 68 percent to 32 percent margin.

Kalispell officials have discussed the need for a new north station for more than 20 years. However, this was the first time they have asked voters to pay for the facility.

"We're thrilled to be able to provide this new service to our residents," Fire Chief Randy Brodehl said Wednesday morning after the votes were finally tallied.

Response times from the downtown station to West Reserve Drive currently average 11 to 13 minutes - and when someone suffers a heart attack, the chance of survival drops by 7 to 10 percent for every minute a patient has to wait for defibrillation, Brodehl has said.

A second station is expected to cut response times by more than half.

The measure will add about 10 mills to Kalispell's annual property tax levy for the next 15 years.

The money will pay for a 13,000-square-foot station with three apparatus bays, living quarters for eight and a training tower. The proposed location is somewhere near the intersection of Four Mile Drive and U.S. 93.

"Tentatively, we'll go to bid [on the bond sale] in January," Brodehl said. "We expect to break ground this spring, with about a 12-month construction schedule."

In 2003, the downtown fire station responded to almost 4,000 calls, including more than 2,900 emergency medical calls and almost 1,000 fire/rescue calls. That was an increase of almost 15 percent from the previous year.

The fire department recently added three firefighters to help with the additional workload. Brodehl previously indicated that at least six more people will be added over the next two years. The extra help would be needed regardless of whether the second station was built.

This is the department's first net increase in personnel in more than 20 years.