Idaho Statesman
May 19, 2006

By Brad Hem

Boise's Firehouse No. 5 opened in 1906 with two firefighters and one horse-drawn "engine" in what was then the city's Hay Market District on 16th Street just west of Downtown.

A century later, the Downtown hay markets are long gone, and Station 5 is now home to nine firefighters and a modern fire engine with a new ladder truck coming later this year. The second floor, added when the station was rebuilt in 1912, now holds treadmills and dumbbells instead of hay for the horses. The open dormitory has been remodeled into separate bedrooms to give female firefighters privacy, and a women's bathroom was added in 1999.

Firefighter qualifications have changed a lot, too. In the early days, anyone who was willing to do the risky work was hired. Now, there are written tests and oral boards, physical fitness requirements and a waiting list to get a job.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Station 5 and Station 2, which has moved around and now sits at 3551 Cartwright Road, the Fire Department is holding an open house at Station 5 from 3 to 8 p.m. today. The only older fire station is the old Central Station at 6th and Idaho, which is now home to offices and the Melting Pot restaurant.

Firehouse No. 5 — or "5's" as insiders call it — is the busiest station in town, responding to 2,130 calls last year, nearly double the citywide average of 1,072 calls per station. In its century of history, firefighters from Station 5 have battled some of the city's most famous blazes, including the 1958 destruction of The Mode Department Store, the 1967 State Hardware Store fire and the 1996 8th Street fire in the Foothills.

Dubbed the "Home of the Sleepless Knights," 5's is considered the Boise Fire Department's most prestigious station because of the volume and variety of calls. They get fires in tall Downtown buildings, medical calls for drunks and homeless people, and occasionally they pull someone out of the Boise River or rescue someone from the side of a building.

"The guys like it," said Station 5 senior firefighter Chris Campbell. "They want to work. It makes the days go faster."

But some things never change.

"The basic common house fires are still mostly caused by people, and we haven't found a cure for them yet," said Deputy Chief Dave Hanneman.