Bigfork Volunteer Ambulance has the plans, the land, now they need the money. They’re building new facilities near the intersection of Highway 82 and Highway 35.
“You want to be careful about residential areas,” says Tracy Norred, president of Bigfork Volunteer Ambulance, “you don’t want sirens blaring in the middle of the night.”
Norred says they checked out many locations around Bigfork before picking up the Highway 82 spot.
The new location will have three bays for ambulances and other vehicles, bunk rooms, training and classroom areas, bathrooms, laundry, and a second floor which could serve as a rec room, or more space for training; depending on the future needs of the group.
Currently Bigfork Ambulance shares a building with Bigfork Fire. Norred says both departments are getting too crowded in that space, and the new building will provide enough room for current ambulance volunteers as well as room to expand.
“We want to have enough room to grow,” Norred says, “but not do something that’s beyond what we need to grow.”
Impact Drafting and Designs of Kalispell designed the 96’ by 44’ building, and Steve Norred Construction is handling the general contracting.
They hope to be finished building in a year, but also hoped to be started earlier; they’re still awaiting plat approval through the seller and EPA approval before construction can begin in earnest.
Bigfork Ambulance is conducting a capital campaign to pay for the new building. Norred says the approximate cost is $980,000, and that’s their fundraising goal. For more information; www.bigforkambulance.org.