SCFD No. 2 gets a little more room with new Pinehurst station
The new Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 Pinehurst Firehouse, located at 702 S. Division, took the place of KC's Car Care after officially opening up in May. The new station boasts several improvements over its predecessor, located just down the road.
Photo by CHANSE WATSON
The larger bays of the new Pinehurst station allow crews the opportunity to keep their vehicles out from the weather.
The old Pinehurst station, constructed in the early 1960s, located just down the road from the new station.
PINEHURST — It has been a long time coming, but Shoshone County Fire District No. 2 finally has their new Pinehurst location up and running. The West Shoshone County Firefighters IAFF L2034 announced on May 14 that the move to the new location at 702 S. Division was complete.
SCFD No. 2 Chief Mark Aamodt explains that this new location/building is a substantial improvement over the previous one, located just down the road at 10 N. Main St.
It was in May 2018 that those who reside in SCFD No. 2 voted to approve a $2,900,000 bond to replace the district’s more than 100-year-old primary firehouse in uptown Kellogg. Also included in that bond were funds to give the aging Pinehurst station a makeover.
The old Pinehurst station, constructed in the early 1960s, suffered from various design flaws which limited an occupying crew's effectiveness.
While the original plan was to rehabilitate the old building, SCFD NO. 2 realized that a facelift was going to end up costing more than getting a new building due to it being made with cinder blocks and providing limited space.
"The engine had to back in at an angle because the bays weren't big enough," Aamodt said. "The tender was literally two inches off the back wall to get it completely inside."
A limited number of bays also forced crews to keep one vehicle outside where it was regularly exposed to the elements.
The new station, purchased last July/August with SCFD No. 2 reserve funds and refurbished with bond funds, took the place of KC's Car Care — an automotive garage on the south end of town.
With most of the refurbishments complete, Aamodt explains that the new building rectifies all the issues that crews were having at the old one.
Improvements over the old station include a larger vehicle bay with larger doors and a CO2 filtration system, expanded storage areas, a community meeting room, improved office and living quarters for two people, and a larger parking lot/less busy location which will allow crews to enter the roadway faster. An interior stairway was also added between the vehicle bay and office so crews can access the living quarters without having to go outside and use the external staircase (originally, the only way).
With the expanded space, SCFD No. 2 now keeps four vehicles in Pinehurst and has them all inside.
SCFD No. 2 Firefighter Nick Waites, who was manning the station at the time of the interview, is quite pleased with the upgrade in buildings.
"It's a lot better! It's a drastic improvement. There's a lot more room and I enjoy that I can back a fire engine out into the street without having to be all cockeyed with it."
Aamodt added that having a station in Pinehurst is incredibly important, as it greatly improves response times to certain areas.
"The Pinehurst crew will be first on scene in any fire from this side of Smelterville (west) and onward west."
