• Hope to be completed by end of January

There may not be a more diverse set of outdoor surroundings to tame for first responders than western Wyoming. With mountains, lakes, rivers and wildlife mixing along a highway intersection for two states and countless recreational and business opportunities, the Alpine Fire Department is a true example of dealing with various elements in a busy tourist corridor in a town that also happens to be experiencing steady growth. 

Work to erect  an additional building for the AFD in the Nordic Ranches area seems more needed than ever, but this is a concept more than 20 years in the making. 

“Back in 2001, Clarence and Dorothy Reinhardt donated a piece of land as you enter Nordic Ranches and it’s always been set aside as a space that we could put a station there until we found the revenue to build it,” said Alpine Fire Chief Mike Vogt.  “So we’ve been working on it for at least five years. We started moving forward with specs and bids and it’s a three-phase project.”

Vogt explained that the first phase will be to finish a heated two-bay building for the department’s “older” tender engine as well as any apparatus that the responders may need. In the future, this could be expanded into a four-bay drive-through building and maybe even more down the road.

“Maybe in 20 years if they wanted to build offices and living quarters, that can happen too,” he noted. “It’s being planned for the future.”

The need for such a building grows by the day as the north end of Star Valley draws more residents. With discussion for the expansion of Alpine taking place, the picture continues to become bigger. 

“I really hope it will increase our response time,” Vogt added. “Alpine really can’t grow north, it’s going to grow south. That’s where the expansion will be and thats where volunteers will be. It will help them to be able to use this facility rather than drive into Alpine and then [backtrack]. It will help eliminate some travel time. Then because of a lack of water if we put our tender there with 2000 gallons, we will have a quicker response with water.”

Vogt hopes that the expansion will aid the primary building in Alpine too. 

“It also opens up a bay right in Alpine, so right now, our newest pump is a 2008 so if we have an open bay and we find a good deal for a new or used one we can move forward with that.”

In addition, Vogt mentioned that it could improve scores for area residents from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), which scores a fire department’s ability to protect a community on a scale of 1 to 10.  

“So homeowners insurance could possibly go down,” he said. “We’re hoping those people who will be living there can get a discount on their rate.”

The building now has concrete pads with water and electricity with the hope that it will be ready for use as early as late January. It’s a project that has been in the works for many years.  

“We’ve been saving for awhile,” Vogt concluded. “We want the tax payers to know we are not wasting their money, this will be good for the community.”