Abilene, TX— Abilene is in need of another fire station as it grows rapidly, and with that also grows the risk for fires and other issues that need firefighters.
The Abilene Fire Chief Cande Flores says the city is in need of a new fire station, so they could cover the city’s needs, “So right now we have a bit of a delay getting all the way out to the south side I mean, it’s not much; it’s probably a minute less than what our average response time is, but it is one of the things that we are definitely concerned about, because we know that fire grows at a very rapid rate and so the faster that we can respond for fires and EMS calls, the better our citizens will be served and that’s our ultimate goal.”
The cost of a new station will be around $7.5 million dollars, that Flores said would come from a bond. The potential Fire Station 9 would be done by 2025 and is planned to be located off 707, which is already a city’s land and will cut on costs.
Flores also explained how this new station will also help other stations as well,“There’ll be needs and this is one of those needs. So being able to serve our citizens without stretching our resources to the thinnest way possible just allows us to provide that service that we’re so proud of providing, so that’s really a good thing for us.”
It would be best if the station building process must start as soon as possible, “The need is definitely there today, but we do know if we can get it started with this next bond election, we feel like we’ll be okay. But pushing it any further than that I think is going to be a concern.”
