Ready for action From the cover
The big picture
1 Houston Station 101 renovation
1314 Humble Fire Department Atascocita Fire Department
Houston Fire District 102
Cost: $445,790 Size: 5,310 sq. ft. Sta : 6 Vehicles: 1 retruck, 1 ambulance, 1 high-water vehicle, 1 evacuation boat
The three re departments that serve the majority of the Lake Houston area each recently debuted a new or revamped station, which department lead- ers said are lowering response times for the com- munity or improving working conditions for sta . Atascocita Fire Department leaders celebrated the reopening of Station 29 on Feb. 15, following a $6.9 million rebuild of the facility that Chief of Department Mike Mulligan said was needed to address health and safety issues at the station. The improvements included the addition of a new storage area that helps remove carcinogenic contaminants from re suits and gear, 13 dorms, a weight room, a community room and upgraded living quarters. Meanwhile, Humble Fire Department o cials opened a $6.1 million replacement of Station 2 in January. The 12,000-square-foot facility expand- ed capacity of the original two-person station to house ve to six re ghters and/or medics, one ambulance, one re truck and two reserve vehi- cles, Chief David Langenberg said. In December, Houston Fire Department o cials completed a roughly $445,000 renovation of Station 101 in Kingwood. Communications Di- rector Brent Taylor said the improvements have provided safer living conditions for employees.
SORTERS MCCLELLAN RD.
FORD RD.
494
LAKE HOUSTON WILDERNESS PARK
R T H
D R
.
1
WOODLAND HILLS DR.
2 Humble Station 2 rebuild
TOWNSEN BLVD.
Cost: $6.1M Size: 12,000 sq. ft. Sta : 5-6 Vehicles: 1 retruck, 1 ambulance, 2 reserve vehicles
KINGWOOD DR.
59
1960
I
R S
W. LAKE HOUSTON PKWY.
3
2
3 Atascocita Station 29 rebuild Cost: $6.9M
LAKE HOUSTON
WILL CLAYTON PKWY.
Size: 10,000 sq. ft. Sta : 8-10 per shift Vehicles: 1 retruck, 1 ambulance, 1 high- water rescue vehicle, 2 rescue boats, 1 utility pickup truck, 1 battalion chief SUV
N
SOURCES: ATASCOCITA, HOUSTON, HUMBLE FIRE DEPARTMENTS COMMUNITY IMPACT
Assessing the need
Funding the projects
in 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. “New facilities and proper training enable re ghters to deliver excellent service and be good stewards of community resources,” Riddle said. Humble Fire Department’s replacement station is located farther south than the original station to accommodate population growth in the southern part of the city, Langenberg said.
Multiple re department facilities popping up in an area during a short period of time is not unusual for areas with fast-growing populations, said John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters, an advocacy group that serves 19,000 re ghters in 200 communities across the state. The Lake Houston area’s population grew by roughly 9.2% over ve years, rising from more than 282,400 residents in 2018 to nearly 308,500
Two out of the three station projects experienced delays from conception to opening, department leaders said. Humble’s new station was funded in part by a $4.5 million federal grant, and the city provided about $1.5 million-$2 million, Langenberg said. Typically, a re station takes 12-18 months to build, but the Humble project encountered several setbacks, including supply chain issues from the coronavirus pandemic, Langenberg said. Ultimately, the slowdowns raised the cost of the re house from the 2018 estimate, which was closer to $4.5 million. “By the time we received the funding approval and got the building designed, both COVID and the subsequent era of hyperin ation happened,” Humble City Manager Jason Stuebe said via a Feb. 27 email. While Mulligan said the AFD was able to secure a locked-in price for the roughly $6.9 million rebuild of Station 29, he noted the project su ered from several delays due to supply chain issues. Houston Fire Department leaders said their project did not see cost changes or timeline delays.
Atascocita Fire Department
Houston Fire Department (District 102)
Humble Fire Department/EMS
Total calls for service
Average response times
11:05
10 12
10K
8,687
8,301 8,622
10:29 10:45 10:32
8,085
8K 6K 4K 2K 0
6,932
9:56
8,221 7,836
8
7,748
7:07 7:01
7:01
6:45
7,019
6 4 2 0
7:04
6:51
6:55
4,895
5:54 6:19
4,094 4,159 4,376
3,387
2020* 2021 2022 2023 2024
2024
2020* 2021
2022 2023
*ATASCOCITA FIRE DEPARTMENT DATA FOR 2020 WAS UNAVAILABLE SOURCES: ATASCOCITA, HOUSTON, HUMBLE FIRE DEPARTMENTS COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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