Kalispell's newest fire truck ready for firefighting action

The Daily Inter Lake

The fire hall it will belong to isn't yet built, but the new fire engine for Kalispell's Fire Station No. 62 started service Friday.

The fire department unveiled the American LaFrance Dominion Eagle engine for the public at a demonstration behind Target.

The city bought the truck for $279,900, which came out of the fire department's section of the general fund.

The new engine will go to Fire Station No. 62, which opens in spring 2006. That hall will be behind the new Costco store south of Lowe's. A new road will connect the station to U.S. 93 where a traffic light will be installed this summer.

The new engine can dispense up to 1,500 gallons of water per minute and holds eight firefighters. The truck can also put out foam to control fires and has improved pumping technology.

The engine replaces a 1973 engine. The new Dominion Eagle has advanced technology the old engine doesn't and the 1973 vehicle was becoming expensive to maintain, Fire Chief Randy Brodehl said.

That old fire truck still works, though, so it will be stationed at the Kalispell City Airport in case a fire breaks out there or at a nearby commercial property.

Brodehl estimates the new truck will respond to more than 2,000 calls a year. The engine will be housed at the downtown fire station until the new hall opens.