Work on a new South Kalispell fire station off Airport Road is finally kicking off.  

The need for a new fire station in the South Kalispell Fire District has been the subject of discussions for the last 25 years, said Fire Chief Chris Yerkes. It has been on his to-do list since he took over as chief in 2008.  

"I'll be able to retire with a completed checklist," he chuckled. 

The South Kalispell Fire Department is holding a groundbreaking ceremony at 3320 Airport Road at 4 p.m. Wednesday to celebrate the undertaking. The hope is to have the new four-bay fire station up and running by early May.  

When finished, it will house two structure fire engines and a water tender that the department already has in service. Yerkes hopes to add a wildland fire engine down the road.  

 "[It's] a big relief," Yerkes said of the forthcoming station.  

It takes emergency personnel an average of 20 minutes to reach a home 10 miles out from the station at 1255 Willow Glen Drive, he said. But the new location is expected to cut response times in half and, with a 30,000-gallon cistern, serve as a nearby water source. 

Homeowners who live within 5 miles of the new station may finally qualify for insurance, he added. Those with insurance could benefit from significantly decreased rates.  

VOTERS PASSED a mill levy in 2021 to fund the project and operational costs of the new station. But it took an additional five years of saving before the department was ready to break ground.  

"I can remember looking at the budget three years ago," said South Kalispell Fire Board Member R.G. Dickey. He was surprised to see that prices had doubled. 

The levy was based on cost estimates made in 2019. At the time, the station came with an estimated price tag of between $450,000 and $650,000. By 2021, costs had already risen to $600,000.  

Today, the total came in at just over $1.5 million.

The department has faced budget challenges as the city of Kalispell chips away at its tax base through annexation, Yerkes and Dickey said, leaving fewer taxpayers to pay the levy.  

"That takes the tax base out of our district and transfers it to the city," Dickey said, "which then funds their district." 

But the department enjoys strong community support. Local residents Devar and Vicky Gardner donated 5 acres of land to the department for the station. Two of the new fire engines were purchased through the South Kalispell Volunteer Firefighters Association, a nonprofit that acts as the department's fundraising arm.  

The South Kalispell Fire Department has a staff of about 30 volunteers. Roughly half the 20 licensed emergency medical service providers are advanced emergency medical technicians, and the station's first paramedic is expected to join in the coming weeks.  

"That's by far an anomaly nationwide, regionally, locally," Dickey said. "We've got a good crew, a full staffed operation, and I think our response shows that." 

Report for America Reporter Hannah Shields can be reached at 406-758-4439 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.