New DeSoto Fire Station Will Make Emergency Response More Efficient
DESOTO – With the uncertain weather in the Dallas area this spring, the recent Grand Opening/Hose Uncoupling of DeSoto’s Fire Station 262 will remind residents just how forward thinking the city has been in regard to public safety.
The grand opening was marked with the first words that DeSoto Mayor Rachel Proctor said to those in attendance, “When a city like DeSoto builds a fire station, it’s built right and it’s built to last.”
The last station built in DeSoto was back in 1990. This was Fire Station Three on Pleasant Run Road.
The effort to create DeSoto’s newest fire station began under now State Representative Carl O. Sherman who was at that time the city’s mayor, Proctor explained. This new station also serves as DeSoto’s Fire Rescue’s new administrative offices.
The new fire building would not have been a possibility without the support of DeSoto voters, who approved Proposition Two during the 2014 Bond Election.
“This granted us the funding for this project. It enabled the city to relocate Station Two from Hampton Road to Belt Line Road and to build this new station on South Parks,” Proctor said.
A grant to help with the total cost for $366,000 was also received through the Texas Division of Emergency Management according to DeSoto Fire Chief Jerry Duffield.
Mayor Proctor also pointed out it means improved emergency response times to the west side of DeSoto. The station’s completion also opened the old station up for future development at a key DeSoto intersection.
Fire Station Came In Under Budget
At a total cost of $6.4 million, the station came in under budget.
The new Fire Station also allows for women and men to work together and still have their need for privacy addressed while working.
“This building here is for you,” Duffield said “A great moment that we have to celebrate.”
With best in class technology and equipment, DeSoto residents can feel even more safe during inclement weather as well as in emergency situations.
“We know this building is going to serve this community moving forward and you (the people manning the new station) also aren’t very far from our communication and police departments,” DeSoto City Manager Brandon Wright concluded. “As we move closer together, these departments will be able to work easier together too.”
