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New Kuna Fire Station #2 will improve response times as the city grows

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KUNA, Idaho — The Kuna Rural Fire District will soon have a new station — the location of Fire Station #2 has been finalized along W. Kuna Road and the process to get the station built is underway.

  • The new fire station will be built on a two acre plot at 2021 W. Kuna Road.
  • A crew of three firefighters will staff Station #2 — improving response times to parts of Kuna south of the railroad tracks.
  • The next steps are getting those two acres that are currently in Ada County annexed into the City of Kuna — along with taking soil samples and working with civil engineers.
  • Groundbreaking on the project is expected to start in early 2025 with the goal of the station being operational by the end of 2025.

(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)

"Currently here in Kuna for a population over 30,000 now, we have just the one fire station," says Kuna Fire Chief T.J. Lawrence.

He and his staff of 18 firefighters are getting a new station.

"This location where we're standing here today it's going to be the location of Fire Station #2 for us," says Lawrence.

Chief Lawrence tells me Station #2, which will be located on the south side of the railroad tracks that run through town, will solve a problem firefighters have been dealing with for decades.

"The tracks that have always traveled through Kuna have always been an issue and a time delay for emergency responders to get to the south side — which can be very alarming for those that are needing the help and also very frustrating for the crews that are trying to get across those tracks to provide the help," Lawrence explained.

The new station will essentially split the six firefighters working at any given time in half, with a crew of three staffing each fire station.

Voters passed a $6 million bond to fund Station #2 in November 2022.

“We've had some delays just acquiring the right piece of land. We want to make sure that the station is going in the correct location as well. There's not a whole lot of ground available per se," says Lawrence.

The two acres of land they did get was gifted to them by a local developer.

The next steps are getting those two acres that are currently in Ada County, annexed into the City of Kuna — along with taking soil samples and working with civil engineers.

And like most real estate decisions — he says location is key.

"You need to really be thoughtful about where you're going to put them so that they're not only meeting the needs of the community today but also for the needs of the community in the future... This area is going to develop in the future and having a station in this location is going to help improve response times," added Lawrence.