COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — The Kootenai County Fire & Rescue (KCFR) is inviting the community to the grand opening of a new station in Coeur d’Alene next week.
According to Chris Way, the Fire Chief of KCFR, there will be a grand opening followed by an open house for a new KCFR Fire Station 4 at 367 East Kathleen, next to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, on June 8. The ceremony will start at 9 a.m. with a traditional Wet-down Ceremony that dates back to the late 1800s. The open house will start at 12 p.m., where the community can tour the station, participate in fire prevention activities and learn Hands-Only CPR.
According to Way, the new KCFR Station #4 will better serve the community and help crews get to where they need to go in less time.
“Our priority is service to our community,” said Way. “This new station gives us a chance to serve them more quickly.”
KCFR has crews at the current Station #4 on Golf Course Drive, which was built in the 1970s. With the rapid population growth, this old location makes it hard to avoid traffic and with expanding neighborhoods.
According to Way, KFR Station 4 answers a significant number of calls in Dalton Gardens. Due to heavy traffic and growing neighborhoods, crews can take an average of ten minutes to reach the incident.
The estimated arrival time will be cut in half with the new station. When the station opens, it will have a full staff and all the necessary equipment from the old station to respond to any emergency, including wildfires.
KCFR is currently working on other projects to keep up with population growth. A new headquarters is expected to finish construction in July. A relocated KCFR Station 3 plans to open in mid-October, and a new KCFR Station 5 is set to open in Spring 2025.
