Rural fire department considering new station
November 8, 2005
By KEN CRITES
Staff Writer
The Minot Rural Fire Department is considering a new fire station on the north side of town, according to Fire Chief Rex Weltikol.
The proposed location is across U.S. Highway 83 from SRT Communications Inc., the chief said.
"With the increase of residential development north of Minot," Weltikol said, "the Minot Rural Fire Protection District is looking at expanding its services. Of all of the fire calls handled by Minot Rural Fire, the majority are north and northeast of Minot.
By adding a second station to the Minot Rural Fire Protection District, several minutes can be shaved from response time.
The Northern Region of the fire district extends to Ward County Road 8 at Ruthville, five miles west of U.S. Highway 83 and seven miles east of U.S. 83.
Weltikol said it takes time for fire trucks to go around Minot and trucks are often delayed by trains at the BNSF crossing near Northern Livestock on Ward County Road 19.
Proof of quicker response times favors property owners in saved property and lower insurance rates for having a fire service closer to their property.
The fire station would house an engine, pumper and tanker along with grass/wildland firefighting vehicle, the chief said.
The proposed building would be an 80-foot by 100-foot steel building. It would be nothing fancy. The station would not be manned, he said. No cost estimate was mentioned.
In addition to tax dollars, the fire district would be checking on obtaining grants for the construction. He said there was no time for completion of the building. Hopefully we can build it within the next two years. But that depends of what the public thinks of the idea, Weltikol said Monday. We have had some comments already from people in the area who want the station, he said.
Minot Rural Fire tries to keep at least 30 volunteer firefighters on the roster, but we are always looking for more, he quickly added.
He mentioned that a lot of people from Minot Air Force Base volunteer for firefighting duty. It (the north station) would be ideal for them because they wouldn’t have to drive to the south station and then return to fight a fire on the north side, he said.