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Breaking ground for fire station

City holds ceremony to mark construction start

Jill Schramm/MDN Philip Keller with Roers, Matt Ward with Braun Electric, Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel and City Manager Harold Stewart toss dirt in the ground-breaking for Fire Station 5 Monday.

Shovels broke ground Monday on what Minot Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel called “peace of mind” for northwest Minot.

It was a ceremonial groundbreaking as ground moving already has started for the construction of Minot’s Fire Station 5, located on Fourth Avenue near 26th Street Northwest. Roers is the general contractor for the project, expected to finish next summer.

“As a department, this project is very important to us as we work every day to protect our residents and our community from the threat of fire and other emergencies,” Kronschnabel said. “This location was strategically chosen a few years ago with a single purpose in mind. Number one, construct a fire station to improve the level of fire protection and emergency response for all of Minot, but especially for the northwest section of our community. When it becomes operational next summer, this station will provide immediate and permanent fire protection for this section of Minot and will give our firefighters who will call the station home away from home the ability to make an even greater difference for the residents of our community. And it’ll give everyone in northwest Minot a little more peace of mind knowing that in case of an emergency, help is closer than ever before.”

City Manger Harold Stewart credited the fire department and city council for their efforts to make the new department happen.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction and pride taken by this community with regards to our fire department, and we want to continue to hold that standard. Improvements like this will help us to continue to hold that standard and improve that standard for the foreseeable future,” Stewart said.

“Fire Station 5 is an investment in safety and security of our residents and our growing community here in northwest Minot,” Mayor Shaun Sipma said. He noted the growth with a new middle school and plans for a new high school as well as other commercial and residential activity.

Helping throw shovels of dirt were members of the city council and contractor representatives.

Kronschnabel recalled driving over the past few years past the sign that designated the property as the future home of Fire Station 5.

“Well, the future is here,” she said. “We’re happy to be part of the neighborhood.”

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