Helena Fire Department Chief Ken Wood continued to sound the alarm over the city s need for a third fire station during a Helena City Commission meeting this week.Â
City leadership gave City Manager Rachel Harlow-Schalk and Wood permission to continue exploring the need and feasibility following Wood s presentation, which painted a bleak outlook for HFD s ability to respond to emergencies in the future without the construction of a third fire station near the Helena Regional Airport.
Wood told the City Commission he projects average response times for the two existing stations to climb to nearly eight minutes by 2025, well outside industry standards, without the construction of a third station near the airport.Â