TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Fire Station No. 3 was opened in a ceremony on Tuesday, February 27, 2024 in Twin Falls
- The 10,000 square foot facility is nearly three times bigger than the old Fire Station No. 3, built in 1979.
- The facility features two pull-through bays for firefighting apparatus, five beds, a gym, a kitchen with three refrigerators and a decontamination area that is separate from living areas.
- This is the second new fire station to be opened by the city in the past six months. Fire Station No. 2 was opened in October.
- Both new stations were funded through a combination of impact fees collected from new development, and notes from the city's general fund and enterprise funds.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Instead of a ribbon cutting, the new fire station number 3 in south twin falls was officially opened with a hose decoupling.
This ten-thousand foot facility on Washington Street South will more than triple the size of the old Fire Station No. 3 that is is replacing.
The public got its first look, plus some snacks, drinks and a tour of the new station.
Deputy Fire Chief Mitchell Brooks showed me around.
"We have computers around the perimeter and then we have meetings at the table and then we have two screens here that we have a class or we need a zoom conversations," Brooks said.
This new facility will have a clean side and a dirty side, allowing firefighters to keep contaminated and potentially toxic gear away from living areas.
"Once you get back from an incident, they can take their turnout off, clean them up before they enter back into the clean areas," Brooks said.
It also features a gym, laundry facilities, work area, and a lounge area.
"This is much needed in making sure these guys deserve the sort of space they can spread out they're not bumping into each other," Brooks said. "This is the modern day fire station, that's for sure."
Mayor Ruth Pierce said the completion of the two new stations represented an improvement of services to Twin Falls residents.
"With the ability to get out quickly and not have a lot of traffic when they do get out," Pierce said. "Our citizens deserves a good response time and we're hoping that will make a difference."
Now they have the ability to run multiple units out of one building, reducing response times as well.
"Prior to this, we didn't have the capacity to run multiple crews now we have enough beds for heads," Brooks said. "We can run two different types of responses out of each stations."
