Plum Creek donates to fire hall

The Bad Rock Volunteer Fire Department received a nice boost last week when the Plum Creek Foundation donated $10,000 for its new fire hall.

The building is under construction at the corner of Highway 206 and Columbia Pine Court. The fire department protects about 4,000 homes and businesses in the rural Columbia Falls area, from Bad Rock Canyon south to Blackmer Lane and from Columbia Mountain east to the Flathead River.

The new hall will cost about $340,000, Bad Rock captain Steve Catlett said. The company received a construction loan from Glacier Bank and will get a standard mortgage, he said. The new fire hall will not increase the district's fire levy, he said. The department plans to sell the old hall and property on Highway 206 at Kelly Road.

The old hall was too small and firefighters had to stop traffic on the highway to back trucks into it. Catlett said one engine literally touches the back wall of the old hall.

The new hall will have five bays and enough land - 2.7 acres - for further expansion. The department is acting as its own contractor, and volunteers are helping with everything from labor to materials. Construction began in April and the hall should be completed by this fall.

"Although Plum Creek is not in our fire district, we appreciate their contribution," Catlett said. "We're often called in to support the Columbia Falls Fire Department. This donation will reduce the amount that we will need to finance."

Plum Creek Plywood product line manager Kelly Robinson expressed appreciation for the work of the rural firefighters.

"When there's an emergency, volunteers with the Bad Rock Fire Department respond to help their neighbors, and that support has reached into our fire district as well," Robinson said. "We're pleased to be able to help them reach their dream of a new fire hall to better serve the community."