CAREYWOOD — Selkirk Fire Rescue & EMS is in the home stretch of long-standing goal to improve response times and coverage in southern Bonner County.

Selkirk completed an interior remodel of the Careywood Station in July, which converted two of the pole building’s four vehicle bays into living space for fire-fighting emergency medical technicians. The department has also secured a $770,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency to hire three new firefighters.

Together, the capital improvements and new hires will translate into 24-hour/seven-day-a-week staffing at the station off U.S. Highway 95.

“We were excited to perform that service for a community that has been underserved for so long,” Selkirk Chief Ron Stocking said.

Stocking said he attended a community meeting recently which drew up to 40 people who welcomed the idea of staffing the Careywood Station.

“They were very excited about that fire station opening up,” Stocking said.

The facility was erected by the Sagle Fire District in the 1980s and has been used for the storage of reserve equipment.

The new hires are Chris Lewis, Cody Lile and Tennille Toussaint.

Selkirk Fire began compiling a list of prospective hires two years ago. Core requirements for eligibility on the list included accreditation as an EMT and a firefighter.

“We were very happy with the talent we received and they’re all local,” Stocking said of the new hires.

All three have experience as EMTs or fighting structure and woodland fires.

Lewis, Lile and Toussaint are undergoing an additional 30-day training program that will qualify them as aerial apparatus operators, technical rescuers and eventually fire prevention code officers, Stocking said.

Stocking said the staffed Careywood Station is forecasted to come online in early January or early February at the latest. It will also house a brush truck and a fire engine.

It will also serve as a community wellness check station for local residents who want their blood pressure checked or blood sugar monitored.

The FEMA grant covers the first three years of the new firefighters’ wages. Thereafter, their salaries will be baked into Selkirk’s budget, according to Stocking.

Response times in the Careywood area are currently 20-25 minutes. Staffing at the station is expected to cut those response times roughly in half.

“It’s pretty good stuff, especially for our people in the south-county,” Stocking said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.