MILES CITY — Construction is underway on a long-awaited new fire station in Miles City, bringing relief to a department that has spent years operating out of temporary facilities.
Watch construction of the new fire station here:
Interim Fire Chief Eddy Kanduch said work began in July at the site of the former station at 2800 Main St., which was demolished in June. Voters approved a $3.9 million bond two years ago, but design changes and cost increases pushed back the start date.
Related: Miles City votes to pass bond to replace unstable fire station
The original building, which was partly converted from an old implement store, had long been deteriorating. The structure was deemed unsafe in 2018 after wind damage, shifting foundation and stress from heavy fire apparatus caused significant cracking. Firefighters were forced to move their living quarters into modular units outside the building for over five years.
“We also had some damage with just some ground shifting and stuff. It wasn't designed for fire apparatus running on the concrete and everything all the time,” said Kanduch. "There was a lot of cracks and stuff that were in a lot of the structural pieces of them cracking through."
Related: Miles City firefighters pushing for bond to replace unstable fire station
Initial plans for the replacement station included a second floor and an additional apparatus bay, but escalating construction costs required more than a year of redesign. The final project is estimated between $5.2 million and $5.4 million, funded through the bond, federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, and additional bond premium revenue.
Kanduch said the new building will streamline operations and improve emergency response.
“Having everything under one roof is nice to be able to have that cohesiveness moving around," said Kanduch. "We'll also have a nice training facility in there that we can use for bringing trainings here for the fire department or different things that we do for EMS.”
Construction is expected to be completed by next June. Until then, the department relocated its trailers and operations to a temporary site off Highway 12.
“It's super exciting for all of us,” said Kanduch. "It's going to be an amazing facility for us. That's for sure."
