Near Custer Avenue, the Helena fire department is planning its next big step: a brand-new third station, and we now know who will be building the facility. Earlier this month, the city commission accepted a nearly six-million-dollar bid from R & R Taylor Construction to complete the project.
“We want to serve Helena citizens with the service they deserve here in the capital city,” said Helena Fire Union president Dave Maslowski.
Last year, Helena voters approved a bond to pay for the new fire station. In June, Dowling Architects was selected to design the new station.
Helena City Commissioner Sean Logan said there have been efforts for a third station since 2006.
“Just generally, Helena has grown, and the services that we provide should grow commensurately with it,” Logan said.
The new station will be the first station to lie north of the railroad tracks. Firefighters believe this will improve response time from eight minutes down to four to five, closer to the average response times near the current stations.
“The fire station being north of the railroad tracks gives us geographic proximity to the side of town that we don't currently have a profile with a station there as we sit now,” said Fire Chief Jon Campbell.
The new station will feature new bays, living quarters, classrooms, and a new tower for live burn exercises and training purposes. Additionally, old timbers from the firetower will be incorporated into the entryway of the new station, preserving the old with the new.
Once complete, equipment and vehicles will be rearranged between the stations to better fit Helena’s needs.
The Fire Prevention and Investigation Bureau staff will be relocated to the new station, while admin will stay at Station One.
One issue with the new station is limited staffing. While the bonds for the new station were passed, the mill levy proposing to increase taxes and add firefighter positions to the current 36 staff was rejected by voters.
“Current budget only allows for the number of full-time employees that we have, which only supports a two-station model,” Campbell said.
With the construction timeline looking at 18-24 months, it gives both the commission and the fire department time to figure out the next steps and the best approach to increase staff size.
They expect to break ground this coming spring and hope to have the new station up and running by April 2027. We’ll continue to follow the project as construction gets underway.
Our previous coverage on the developing story can be found here.
