Tyler

By CINDY MALLETTE Staff Writer The new fire station at the intersection of McDonald and Old Omen roads opened with fanfare and the uncoupling of a fire hose on Wednesday.

"Ribbon-cuttings come a dime-a-dozen," said Interim Fire Chief David Schlottach. "We at the Fire Department don't do ribbons."

Mayor Barbara Bass, City Manager Bob Turner, former Mayor Joey Seeber, and a handful of other people who played a key role in building Fire Station No. 10 helped welcome the station to the neighborhood.

"We're proud to open this fire station, but most of all we're proud of the fact it's part of this neighborhood," Turner said. "We hope the relationship carries on for many generations."

Michael D. Barham Architects designed the 9,648-square-foot fire station, which was built by HGR General Contractors.

"It's absolutely beautiful," Barham said at the opening ceremony. "Most of the older fire stations you'll see are low-slung and kind of boxy. It's nice that the city spent the time to make this look unique."

Funding for the $1.8 million structure came entirely from the Half-Cent Sales Tax.

"We were fortunate we had that vehicle to fund this project," Seeber said. "Because of the Half-Cent Sales Tax, we were able to pay cash for this building."

Ms. Bass said the new fire station will benefit the community by shortening response times to the area it serves.

"The addition of Fire Station 10 will help reduce the response time of our firefighters and increase the safety of our city without creating debt," she said.

Council Member Chris Simons agreed.

"By spacing our stations throughout Tyler, we enhance our ability to get help to our citizens quickly," he said.

The station will serve neighborhoods within a mile-and-a-half radius of its location.

Simons joked that he and Council Member Nathaniel Moran will have to learn to share the fire station, which sits on the border between Council Districts 4 and 5.

"Us councilmen are kind of territorial, but I'm happy to share this with you Nathaniel," Simons said, laughing.

Planning for the fire station began in 2002, when the city of Tyler hired a consultant to determine the Fire Department's staffing needs and station placement. The consultant said the city would need 10 fire stations, 10 fire companies (who perform basic firefighting functions), and two ladder truck companies (who perform a variety of services including search and rescue and aerial water delivery operations).

As a result, the city created a five-year progressive plan which became the blueprint for how the Fire Department would meet the city's current and expanding needs.

"Fire Station 10 was one of the first projects that came across my desk as city manager," Turner said. "It is wonderful to be here as we open this station to serve our community, in a location that has such a rich history in this neighborhood."

Fire Station 10 was built with an expected lifespan of 40 to 50 years and was designed with future growth in mind, city officials said.

"This is an absolutely beautiful building and we know we'll be able to use if for many years," Simons said. "We'll get tremendous longevity out of it."

Right now, Station 10 will house three shifts of fire companies that each including a captain, driver/engineer and two firefighters.

"The addition of Fire Station 10 will not only help reduce the response time of our firefighters, it will also be an important step toward lowering the Insurance Service Organization (ISO) rating for the city of Tyler," Schlottach said.

The next step in the fire department's five-year plan is to finish construction of Fire Station 7. The city anticipates a completion date of December 2008. The new station will be located at 344 Troup Highway and will replace the station at 1116 Troup Highway.

Ryan Spradlin, 3, looks at the fire hose fittings on a fire truck at the new Fire Station #10 on Old Omen Road on Wedneseday.
(Staff Photo By Herb Nygren Jr.)