For the first time in years, Kootenai County Fire and Rescue is no longer getting to every life-threatening emergency call within four minutes and 59 seconds. 

To meet that goal and expand first responders' reach to Kootenai County's growing population, KCFR moves forward with a public safety bond on the May 18 ballot.

"I'm a believer that growth should pay for growth," KCFR Chief Christopher Way said. "However, that's not been the case."

Much like the push for impact fees presented to the county by Timberlake Fire District Commissioner David "Rudy" Rudebaugh, the bond would allow first responders to meet growing community demands. However, the bond is solely for KCFR operations, specifically to relocate two and add a fire station to cover more area.

KCFR's four fire stations follow Interstate 90 from State Line to east Coeur d'Alene and date back to 1974. At the time they were built, staying within a mile of the major arterial seemed intuitive. Still, as housing developments spread across the county, the department is no longer serving the population effectively. 

"We are not statistically in the best location as you look at growing demand and growing need for service," Way told the Post Falls City Council. "Definitely, our current stations don't meet the planning of Post Falls or the county as a whole."

Another worry of the department is the rapidly increasing number of people they protect. With the latest census estimates, Way explained that the fire district would be responsible for protecting 52,000 people this year. By 2040, that number could jump to over 100,000. He said this is a concern, as the district is already failing to meet preferred response times. 

"Our goal is to have the first unit on the scene of an emergency within four minutes and 59 seconds of the call at least 90% of the time," Way said. "And for the first time ever, we are not meeting that goal."

From 2010 to 2020, Way pointed out that the Kootenai County community exploded by 34.5%, and in that same time period, KCFR's call volume rose by 63%. 

"We're doing 63% more calls with the same number of stations we had in 1999," he said. 

If the bond were to pass, Station No. 1 and No. 2 are not anticipated to change, Way said, as they are in areas seeing significant industrial growth. However, Station No. 3 would move to Charleville and Prairie Avenue to better serve the growing prairie corridor. No. 4 would relocate to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, expanding the first responders east of Coeur d'Alene out to the Wolf Lodge area. A new station, outdoor classroom, and auxiliary and vehicle storage facility would be stationed on Seltice Way just west of KCFR's training center. 

"On the map, it looks like there's triple coverage, and there is," Way said. "The triple coverage gets you within 3 miles of a fire station."

KCFR added the outdoor classroom and storage facility to the bond projects after reaching vehicle and maintenance storage capacity. While they are the least expensive projects, Way said they are still vital for the long-term success of KCFR. 

Each station is estimated to cost about $3.8 million, the outdoor classroom would be $250,000, and the storage building $650,000. The bond totals $14.9 million and includes a $1.2 million 100-foot ladder fire truck, $550,000 for facility equipment, and $900,000 for other bond and construction costs. 

Spread out over the next decade, the bond's levy rate would cost a property owner $24 per $100,000 of taxable property value.