Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 75F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear to partly cloudy. Low near 75F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
The Honor Guard raise the flag at Fire Station No. 3 during a hose coupling ceremony Wednesday, May 18, 2022 in New Braunfels. The new 11,600 square foot station replaces the original 3,100 square foot station built in 1981.
New Braunfels firefighters stationed at Fire Station No. 3 attend a coupling ceremony for the new building Wednesday, May 18, 2022. The new 11,600 square foot station replaces the original 3,100 square foot station built in 1981.
The Honor Guard raise the flag at Fire Station No. 3 during a hose coupling ceremony Wednesday, May 18, 2022 in New Braunfels. The new 11,600 square foot station replaces the original 3,100 square foot station built in 1981.
New Braunfels firefighters assigned to Fire Station No. 3 are enjoying new digs after city leaders and stakeholders on Wednesday officially opened a new fire station on Hanz Drive to serve the city’s northeast side.
The ceremony opening the $6.7 million station — the city’s busiest with the “Kings of Gruene” responding to 2,653 calls last year — began with posting the colors by the department’s honor guard and performance of the traditional Irish tune “The Minstrel Boy” by the New Braunfels Firefighters Fifes and Drums.
City Manager Robert Camareno said many years of planning went into delivering the finished project that will serve the city for years to come. Voters approved the station’s replacement as part of the 2019 bond program.
“This is a very special day for us,” City Manager Robert Camareno told assembled guests. “It’s not every day that you get to cut a ribbon on a brand new fire station — certainly not one as beautiful as this. Projects like this have a ways to go to get developed. It starts with an idea. It starts with an identified need that is then presented several times and justified.”
Camareno continued, stating that “it’s not just a building — It’s also a home.”
New Braunfels firefighters stationed at Fire Station No. 3 attend a coupling ceremony for the new building Wednesday, May 18, 2022. The new 11,600 square foot station replaces the original 3,100 square foot station built in 1981.
“It’s the place where our firefighters come to not only work their shifts and serve the community,” he said, “but to build their family — build their relationships with people they work with. This is a special place.”
The project included demolishing the previous 3,700-square-foot structure on the site constructed in 1981 and building a new 12,000-square-foot structure that houses six firefighters daily and three vehicles: a fire engine, brush truck and medical transport unit.
“As many of us know, Fire Station No. 3 needed major repairs for a really long while,” said District 4 Council member Lawrence Spradley, who had previously served as an emergency medical technician for a small volunteer fire department near Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “It had simply served its useful life and needed to be replaced. I believe you could fit the entire old building inside the bay of the new building.”
The new station features space for a reserve fire engine or ambulance, a kitchen, living quarters, a day room and gym facilities.
“I remember the first time that we toured this facility in the 2013 bond committee, and it wasn’t able to get done at that time,” said Pastor Ray Still of Oakwood Church, who has served as a chair for the 2013, 2019 and 2023 bond advisory committees. “And then I think we toured it again the next time. Once the bond committee walked through the old facility, it really didn’t need much discussion because we pretty much knew it had to be replaced, and it was obvious. I think we’re all going to be, today and in the years ahead, incredibly proud of this station and what it represents to our community and what it says about how well we do when we do things together.”
Fire Chief Ruy Lozano, who was confirmed to the appointment as the city’s new fire chief last week by council members, said many fire departments don’t garner the same support that New Braunfels residents have shown.
“It’s just incredible,” Lozano said. “And to think this is normal, but it’s not. I’ve seen many fire departments across the country that don’t have this kind of support. And now you have a better station — one that’s going to help provide that high degree of customer service while providing for your safety and (firefighters) well-being. Not just physical but mental. Even though they get to respond to an amazing community, they also have the burden of witnessing some tragedies. Every day, they bring that home — to this home.”
While construction was in progress on the new station, firefighters and equipment made a temporary home on the grounds of New Braunfels Utilities’ Headwaters at the Comal facility on East Klingemann Street.
The opening also included the presentation of a state flag that had flown over the Capitol in Austin earlier this week from Sonya Chapa-Weber of state Sen. Donna Campbell’s office and concluded with a hose coupling ceremony.
New Braunfels-based Seidel Construction served as contractor for the project. Brown Reynolds Watford Architects designed the two-story structure.
Other public safety facilities under construction for the city’s first responders are near completion.
Fire Station No. 2 is under construction on city-owned land on appropriately named South Water Lane as a replacement for the aging and outgrown facilities at the current location on Loop 337.
Voters approved it as part of the 2019 bond program at a cost of $7.3 million.
The 16,300 square foot, two-story facility, with an anticipated completion date of August, will sleep up to 13 firefighters and contain four bays. Initially, the station will house an engine, a medical unit and a hazmat unit.
The station also includes secure parking, public space, gym/work-out space, commercial kitchen, EMS storage, bunker gear storage, day room and dining room.
A new $36 million police headquarters, also approved by voters in 2019, is under construction on West San Antonio Street and includes office space for all divisions, public space, training facilities, vehicle maintenance bays, evidence storage and a gym. The new facility will also feature a Veterans Memorial enhancing the exterior grounds.
City officials anticipate a July completion date on the new headquarters.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.