It’s been a long time coming, but construction of a fifth fire station in Minot is under way. And that means it’s time for a groundbreaking.

The event will take place on June 6 at 4 p.m. at 2611 4th Ave. NW, the site of the new station. Dirt work at the site has been taking place for a couple weeks now, but it’s important that we take a moment to not only officially recognize the beginning of this project, but to remind ourselves of the impact Fire Station 5 will have on our entire community and specifically on northwest Minot.

The importance of constructing Fire Station 5 in this location cannot be overstated; this site was selected and purchased by the City of Minot years ago for this specific purpose. It will allow firefighters improved access to the entire northwest portion of the city, with immediate proximity to the bypass to quickly reach other destinations. Currently, the closest fire stations to northwest Minot are Station 1 on 20th Avenue SW, Station 2 on Third Street SE, and Station 3 on the west edge of the Minot Municipal Airport property. The lack of a fire station closer to northwest Minot been a concern for those residents for years, and rightly so.

Fire Station 5 will help address those concerns. In the firefighting business, every second matters. Arriving at the scene of a fire even 30 seconds faster can mean the difference between saving a structure and losing it. It can also be a matter of life and death. Literally. With the growth we’ve seen in northwest Minot and the continued expansions we expect to see in the future, the addition of Fire Station 5 is crucial to expanding our scope of fire protection.

Just think of the changes we’ve seen in northwest Minot in the past decade. New businesses have continually sprung up on North Hill since the 2011 flood, including a major new complex that includes a grocery store, convenience store, and a variety of other businesses. The number of residents calling North Hill home has grown tremendously in the past decade, with various apartment complexes and single-family dwelling projects popping up all over North Hill.

The Minot Public School District is fully committed to northwest Minot, with the new Erik Ramstad Middle School built following the flood of 2011 and the new Minot North High School in progress just off 21st Avenue NW. There are also elementary schools in northwest and southwest Minot in close proximity to the new fire station that will benefit from having improved fire protection.

There’s also another potential future benefit for Minot residents once the new station becomes operational next summer. The city currently holds a Class 2 rating with the Insurance Services Office, which rates municipalities in the United States on a scale of 1 to 10. An ISO Class 1 rating is the most effective from an insurance perspective; of the approximately 50,000 fire departments inspected nationwide, only 411 have achieved a Class 1 rating. In recent years, Minot joined the roughly 1,243 other fire departments in the United States that have achieved a Class 2 rating. A new fire station could help Minot achieve an ISO Class 1 rating, which has the potential to lower insurance premiums for homeowners and business owners.

We’d love to have members of the community join us on June 6 for the groundbreaking ceremony, as we celebrate the beginning of this long-awaited and necessary improvement to our community’s fire protection. The community has long supported this project, and we appreciate the patience of residents who have been waiting for this day to come. We’re proud to become a member of this northwest Minot neighborhood, and we look forward to serving and protecting our residents from this new location starting next year. I hope to see you on June 6.

Sincerely, City Hall

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