WORLEY — Worley Fire Protection District broke ground Monday on a new station that will be built at Rolling Hills and Larson roads, just west of Hope Ranch Cattle Company.

The 4,300-square-foot facility will allow the district to increase services in the 121 square miles it covers in the southern third of Kootenai County. Worley Fire currently has five stations that serve about 3,500 year-round residents.

"The plan is to close three of them when this station is open," Worley Fire Chief Scott Campos said Monday. "The three stations we’re closing are unmanned."

Unmanned stations are just large enough to house some equipment for volunteers to access during incidents, Campos said, but they don't have space for living quarters and may not even have running water.

"We’re actually expanding our services by having a manned fire station rather than having three unmanned fire stations," he said.

The new station will have space for four apparatus — a fire engine, a brush truck, a water tender and a utility truck — and a helicopter pad for air ambulance. It will be staffed by four firefighters. During the second phase of construction, a 14-by-80-foot structure will be added to house wildland firefighters, who will often live in camps while responding to wildfires where housing is not available, Campos said.

"We (will be able to) house dozens of firefighters and they can have beds to sleep on," he said.

The project is anticipated to cost $600,000, 65% of which has already been raised. Fundraising for the new station is being conducted through the nonprofit Worley Fire Foundation, formed in September 2023.

"The purpose of the organization was to help the Worley Fire Protection District to upgrade and modernize its apparatus and firefighting equipment without any tax increases for the citizens of our district," Worley Fire Foundation President Dick Cook said. "Taking this burden off of our annual budget has allowed us to increase our manpower to three people per shift from two."

Worley Fire is staffed by one full-time command position, one part-time command position and nine full-time firefighter/emergency medical technician positions with a heavy reliance on volunteers. 

The district incorporates the city of Worley as well as the communities of Conklin Park, Cave Bay, Windy Bay, Sun-Up Bay, Rockford Bay and several developments as well as rural, agricultural and timber lands. 

The vision for a new station was first announced when Campos developed a five-year strategic plan after he joined Worley Fire more than three years ago.

"The first goal was to eliminate debt, the second was improve our staffing and the third was to build a new fire station that’s functional to house firefighters to serve our community," he said.

He said public response has been overwhelmingly positive.

"It’s important to note, I think we’re one of the only districts that’s not trying to do a levy override to increase our budget through taxes," Campos said. "With us trying to be good neighbors in the community, we want to show that we’re not going to increase taxes on folks. We're not going to impose fees on people who won’t want to help."

Donations are being directed to the foundation at worleyfirefoundation.org.

Community members will reap a number of benefits with the new station, Campos said.

"Now that it’s started, everyone should have better insurance rates," he said, "not to mention having a firefighter/EMT as much as 20 minutes closer."

Campos said the project is a year ahead of schedule mostly because of supporters. Its exterior is expected to be in place by mid-October with the interior built out around Jan. 1.

The groundbreaking was a fantastic celebration, he said.

"Several of our big donors showed up," Campos said. "Their investment is not just financial; they wanted to see it firsthand and meet everyone."

The Worley Fire team is excited for the new station, Campos said.

"We’re not just serving the community. We live here. We spend a third of our lives here," he said. "We’re thinking bigger than Worley. We’re wanting to have an impact on the community."

Upcoming events:

• Worley Fire District fundraiser — 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 16, H2H Bison Ranch, 30585 S. Ditmore Road, Worley. Live music, silent auction, kids activities, photo opportunities. Tax-deductible tickets include meals and beverages: $50 for adults, $15 for ages 6-12 and free for children younger than 6.

• Worley Fire Pancake Breakfast — 8-11 a.m. Aug. 30, Station 4, 3843 W. Rockford Bay Road, Coeur d'Alene.

Info: worleyfirefoundation.org or worleyfire.com

    Chief Scott Campos speaks Monday during the groundbreaking for the new Worley Fire station that will be built at Rolling Hills and Larson roads. Worley Fire currently has five stations that serve about 3,500 year-round citizens. "The plan is to close three of them when this station is open," Campos said. "The three stations we’re closing are unmanned."