This morning, firefighters ran their final call from the current Fire Station 5 on 16th Street and are already transitioning to temporary locations. Station 5 is the city’s oldest operating fire station and was built in 1951. Soon construction will begin to tear down the building and rebuild a new one in the same location.
“With rising call volumes, more complex calls for service, and more demand placed on our firefighters we look forward to re-opening Station 5 to better serve our community and improve the health and safety of our firefighters,” said Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer. “During this transition, we have worked hard to ensure that emergency response times and access to fire and medical services will not be impacted.”
The new Station 5 will be state of the art and built to better accommodate the all hazards response capabilities of the Boise Fire team. It will house Ladder 5, Engine 5 and a future Squad 5. The building will be 100 percent electric with photovoltaic roof top panels to help achieve the city’s energy goals.
“Station 5 is an important part of downtown,” said Mayor Lauren McLean, “It’s exciting to see the start of much needed upgrades that will take its historic character into account while modernizing the facility so it can continue its critical public safety role. It will be all-electric and include charging stations for the fire engines of the future, moving us closer to our goal of a clean and healthy city for everyone.”
As of today, Engine 5 will operate out of 1205 W. Bannock St. and Ladder 5 will operate from Station 18, at 3895 Chinden Boulevard until the new Station 5 is complete. The rebuild is expected to be done in 2024.
“This firehouse holds a lot of history and sentimental value for our firefighters who worked at Station 5,” Niemeyer said. “To honor that, the new station will feature a public-facing Boise Fire Department historical display, as well as re-use some of the original brick and hardwood flooring throughout the new firehouse. We are proud to be honoring our past, while building capability for the future.”
Click here to take one final tour of Station 5 before it is rebuilt.
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