New fire station opens in June

By Dan MacArthur
Fossil Creek Current

Imagine a sparkling new fire station, fully furnished and equipped, but devoid of any human presence as though it was built but never occupied.

Poudre Fire Authority Station 14 at Timberline and Westchase roads will at last emerge from that Twilight Zone existence when it opens at 8 a.m. June 6.

Its opening will result in much faster responses to fires, accidents and medical emergencies - especially for those living in the station's nearly 12-square mile service area. It encompasses primarily southeastern Fort Collins and includes Timnath as well as a swath extending west along Trilby Road to Shields Street.

"It will make a noticeable difference," said Poudre Fire Authority spokesman Jason Mantas. He said the station is intended to restore the authority's goal of responding to all emergency calls within four minutes. Mantas said that average response rate had crept into the seven-minute range because of the booming area's distance from existing fire stations. Based on previous experience, he said some 750 of PFA's nearly 12,000 calls a year are expected to come from within the new station's service area.

"I don't know if it will take us up to four minutes but will definitely reverse the trend," he said.

The depth of response time also is expected to improve as well with the addition of a ladder truck this summer at Station 5 located near the intersection of College Avenue and Harmony Road on Hogan Drive. Designed to provide overhead capability for rescues and placing water on a fire, the authority's other ladder truck is based on the north side of Fort Collins, resulting in delays responding to south-side fires.

In contrast to PFA's need for speed, the nearly $1 million station has sat empty for lack of crew since 2002 because of a budget shortfall. Late last year, the city of Fort Collins - which Mantas said provides 80 percent of the fire authority's funding - allocated reserve funds for hiring 10 firefighters. He said the station will be staffed by at least three firefighters at all times.

Mantas said the station will host a public grand opening event later this month. It also offers a meeting room available at no cost to nonprofit groups.