SCFD 3 expansion to improve efficiency

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

Work has begun on an expansion of the maintenance bays at the Cheney station of Spokane County Fire Dictrict 3.

The project, which includes doubling the station's maintenance bays from two to four and extending the length of all four bays, is expected to make the staff's work a lot easier, said Fire Chief Bruce Holloway.

Staff members at the station spend more time in the maintenance bays than most fire stations, Holloway said, because they fabricate their own trucks.

“We've got some dandy trucks,” he said. “They're the best design in the whole county, I think.”

The station buys used, barebones trucks, with just a cab and chassis, and builds on the storage areas, water tanks and other equipment to make them fire trucks. Not only does this allow fabricator Jimmy Gillingham to design the trucks in a way that serves the district, it also saves a lot of money. Holloway said they recently spent $150,000 on a used truck that, post-fabrication, is worth $500,000.

The savings, along with what Holloway called the district's conservative approach to finances, have allowed them to fund the expansion project, estimated at $600,000, through reserves.

“We're pretty conservative in the way we spend our money so we have funds to do our capital projects,' he said, adding that the project I funded by the fire district's regular voter approved levy.

The new bays will feature bridge cranes attached to the ceiling to aid in fabrication work, such as dropping a 1,000-pound motor into a truck.

The district also purchased four hydraulic lifts that will be able to lift trucks off the ground. The new equipment will increase efficiency over the current method – driving the truck over a pit and working underneath it – Holloway said, allowing for easier removal of heavy parts and the ability to work on a truck that isn't running.

Holloway said the project, which was contracted to the Idaho-based company Ginno Construction, should be completed in October.

Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].