The Central Valley Fire District is in need of a new building and is hoping that a levy will be the answer to the current building’s woes.
In a tour of the Fire Station on West Main Street this week, Chief Ron Lindroth talked about the concerns with the current building, which was first built 60 years ago.
An examination of the building’s façade shows cracks at the bottom of the cinderblock foundation, indicating trouble.
“When it deteriorates at the bottom, you literally have to pull the whole wall to repair it,” said Lindroth.
Cracks up the walls of the outside of the building are a surefire sign that the building would not withstand an earthquake. While most earthquakes in Montana are felt north of Helena, that doesn’t calm fears.
“If we had any sizeable earthquake, this facility would crumble,” Lindroth said, “And we don’t want emergency services to be out of service when we have an earthquake.”