Fire District Studies Needs Volunteer Advisory Committee Will Look At Construction Possibilities For Stations

One or two new fire stations and maybe a regional training center are in store for the Post Falls Fire Protection District.

The district needs two more stations, Fire Chief Lynn Borders said. For now, it must decide whether to build both at once or hold off on building the second, he said.

The fire district is creating an advisory committee of community members to study the district’s needs and recommend a course of action. It’s seeking volunteers for that committee.

The district plans to run a bond election in November for whatever project it selects, Borders said.

Rapid growth in Post Falls has outpaced the fire district’s resources. In 1989, the Idaho Surveying and Rating Bureau recommended that it build one or two more stations to improve its service. The bureau is a private organization of Idaho property insurance companies that rates fire districts. A one is the best score, a 10 the worst. The Post Falls district’s rating is a 4. Good scores mean lower insurance rates for people living within the district.

The district has only one real station, on Idaho Street south of Interstate 90. It also houses fire trucks and responds to emergencies out of a second building the district owns at 5225 Seltice Way on the east side of town. The second building was meant to be for administration and maintenance and will be the location of a regional training center if the idea comes to fruition, Borders said.

“This isn’t designed to be a response station,” he said. “It’s not a good location to be covering this end of our district.”

The Post Falls Fire Protection District is long and narrow, and the second building is out on its east end - not exactly a centralized spot. Further, the station is on Seltice Way in a place where the street is one-way, making it cumbersome to go in other directions.

“This works as a temporary facility. It’s better than nothing,” Borders said.

Two other potential fire station sites are on state Highway 41 and 16th Avenue and on Pleasant View Road and Seltice Way. Both already are owned by the fire district and both are better suited for fire stations, Borders said.

Lt. Ben Theard, training officer for the fire district, said he would love to see the Seltice Way building become a full-fledged regional training center.

Having one would allow agencies that frequently work together to train together. For example, all of the fire districts or law enforcement agencies in Kootenai County could use the center at once, he said. Having such a center also would help small, rural fire districts afford the training they need, he said. And it would provide much-needed space for large classes.

The Seltice Way building, which now is mainly offices and a maintenance shop, would add four classrooms that could be converted into one large one by folding the accordion-style dividers separating the rooms. It also would have a computer room, which would be used for the training that emergency workers do with computer programs.

Outside the building, there could be a house designed for practice burns, an area for training firefighters to deal with wild fires, and possibly an area for training to combat natural gas leaks, Theard said.

The Post Falls Fire Protection District has received a bid for construction on the building part of the project for $750,000, Theard said, adding that he thinks it will cost somewhat less. He’s looking for grants and donations to help cover the costs because it would be used by more groups than just the Post Falls district, he said.

Theard has sent out more than 170 letters to various agencies asking for their input on the idea and, if they support it, what kinds of things they’d like to see there.

Theard has received support from groups such as the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department, the Post Falls Police Department, the Division of Environmental Quality, Idaho Fish and Game and Bonner General Hospital.

“It’s a great idea,” said Capt. Ben Wolfinger of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. “Those types of facilities are hard to find.

“It’s a great opportunity for training, not just for fire, but for law enforcement and EMS and everything else.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOW TO HELP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED To volunteer to serve on the community advisory committee, call the Post Falls Fire Protection District at (208) 676-8739. To make a donation to the regional training center, send a check to the Post Falls branch of the Washington Trust Bank for the Post Falls Fire Protection District Regional Training Center.