The Bemidji Fire Department is planning to expand north to better serve the Greater Bemidji population of 35,000.
The Bemidji City Council will hear a request Monday from the fire department to lease a building in Northern Township, which would be the home to a fourth fire station. The recommendation is based on long range planning by the fire department and the Bemidji Rural Fire Association. Together, the two represent a total of 18 local government units that share operational and capital improvement expenses. Recently, they identified a need for an additional station in the northern part of the service area.
"The north end of our service area has a fair amount of population and building value, so it's been targeted for another fire location," Bemidji Fire Chief Dave Hoefer said. "Now is a good time to look at leasing a facility for a bit and see how that goes. We'll see how we can mitigate the impact of fires in that part of the community."