Ready to respond

RATHDRUM - Northern Lakes' new fire station in Rathdrum is ready to roll.

Firefighters finished moving into the $2.7 million, 10,000-square foot building on Highway 53 on Friday, making it open for business.

"This will help the district to have all of our equipment in closer proximity so it can get out of the station quicker, and we'll be able to house additional vehicles and firefighters in the future," Chief Dean Marcus said.

A public grand opening will likely be held in April after the finishing touches and landscaping are complete.

The building of the station was made possible through a $665,000 land donation by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, a $1 million federal grant and the district spending $1 million that had been saved for needed improvements to the old station if it was going to continue as a staffed station.

"This equates to only 36 cents for each dollar spent on the station for local taxpayers," said Marcus, adding that the new station did not require an increase in taxes.

The station includes three bays, living quarters for six that can be expanded to eight and a kitchen/dining area. Fifteen employees work out of the station, which is staffed 24-7.

"It has an efficient heating and cooling system that will allow us to save on utilities, and we did a lot of cost-cutting features by using economical materials to build the station," Marcus said.

The old station nearby, built in the mid-1970s as a pole barn, wasn't built for living quarters. It will be used as the district's storage facility, and the district will sell an existing storage station on Old Highway 95 in the Garwood area.

The old station had multiple safety hazards identified by Criterium-Pffaf Engineers and Emergency Services Consulting Inc.

Northern Lakes covers 108 square miles, including Rathdrum, Hayden, Hayden Lake, Twin Lakes and Garwood, and serves more than 33,000 citizens.