EAGLE, Idaho β An empty lot near Highway 55 and Beacon Light in Eagle will soon be home to a new fire station for Eagle and BLM firefighters to share, designed to speed up response times and help meet the demands of a growing community.
After three years of planning, Eagle Fire and the Bureau of Land Management are making a combined investment in safety with a facility designed to put crews closer to where fires start in the foothills.
Tyler Lewis, Eagle Fire Protection District Chief, explained the motivation behind the new location.
"We were looking for a better location to serve more people in the district," Lewis said.
The Eagle Fire Protection District covers about 100 square miles, extending all the way to the top of Horseshoe Bend Summit and into both Boise and Gem counties. The district boundaries have changed over time, prompting the need for a new station location.
Watch to hear from the Eagle Fire Protection District on how this new station will serve the community.
"The fire district used to go all the way to Bogart and now Station 13 kind of services that area that we just saw go in service. So we're trying to look at, centrally locating that station," Lewis said.
The current station on Floating Feather Road sits right on the border of the district, which Lewis says isn't ideal for serving the population.
"With our station where it currently is, it's right on the border, and it's just not a great location. You want to be kind of in the middle of the population piece," Lewis said.
The collaboration between Eagle Fire and BLM offers advantages beyond just location, according to Lewis.
"The cool part about us partnering with BLM is one... our firefighters get to be matched with subject matter experts in the wildland world. That's what they do. It's what we do as well. But we're then working with somebody day in and day out that does that. And then also when those resources are in districts, they're obviously a lot closer," Lewis said.
According to Lewis, BLM crews must travel about 45 minutes from their yard near the Boise Airport to reach Eagle's coverage area.
Idaho News 6 took a test drive on Tuesday afternoon to BLM's farthest boundary in the Eagle foothills, which extends all the way to the Horseshoe Bend Summit, and it took 54 minutes.
The new location will dramatically reduce response times and provide better resource availability for the community.
"In this situation, we'll have three heavies out there and a battalion that will be readily available to the community," Lewis said.
The partnership will particularly benefit wildland fire response, where BLM resources are frequently called for mutual aid.
"They're coming out usually for all of our fires on a mutual aid anyway. It just really puts those resources a lot closer, that we're able to suppress those fires, keep them a lot smaller, and then recover our resources back in the district, keeping everybody in service," Lewis said.
The time savings will be substantial for fires in remote areas.
"The difference is, is that we're gonna have those Bureau of Land Management resources a lot closer... that we would have been waiting 45 minutes to 1 hour for, that we're gonna be able to get those then within that 20-minute window," Lewis said.
With a coverage area extending from Highway 16 to Highway 55, the new location's access to Highway 55 will help crews navigate heavy traffic and construction while serving Eagle's growing population.
"Highway 55, there's a ton going on along that corridor, and this really just helps us move the station to where we can get to that main highway and that thoroughfare to get other places quicker," Lewis said.
The strategic positioning allows the district to continue using a single station effectively.
"That station for us is really bringing back a response to a larger part of the population that we're actually serving," Lewis said.
The project has navigated federal approval processes over the past three years and is now ready to move forward.
"We did get through the city's design review and, and all that part, so yeah, we're pretty far along and excited about it," Lewis said.
Construction is expected to begin next spring, with completion taking about nine months.
"They told us about 9 months from that completion. So we're, we're probably going to miss next year's wildland season, but then hopefully we're moving in in that, you know, next fall, this time next year," Lewis said.
The approximately $10 million project will be split roughly 50/50 between BLM and the Eagle Fire Protection District, with each contributing based on square footage usage.
The new station will be permanent for Eagle Fire but seasonal for BLM, operating from May/June through early October.
Lewis acknowledges that some neighbors have expressed concerns about noise from the new station, particularly regarding sirens.
"Sirens generally aren't used unless we need to move traffic," Lewis said.
He emphasized that sirens are never used during training exercises.
"We never use sirens... lights and sirens when we're using them for training. They're only for 911 calls. So if you see that fire truck out there and it's driving with lights and sirens on, they're not out training. They're going to a 911 call," Lewis said.
The district welcomes community feedback and can be contacted through their website for any concerns or questions.
The existing station on Floating Feather Road, located about 1.5 miles from the new site, may continue to serve the community in a different capacity.
"Our plan is, is we're trying to work with some partners to get, Ada County paramedics or another, emergency service provider in there that would respond out of that for, the ambulance services that we partner with," Lewis said.
The new Eagle Fire and BLM joint station represents a significant investment in public safety infrastructure designed to serve Eagle's growing community more effectively while providing enhanced wildland fire protection capabilities.
