New Denton fire station ready to serve

“This is Mayor Hudspeth. I am proud to officially open new Fire Station 8, located at 3131 Colorado Blvd.,” he said. “Please show the status board updated with Denton Fire Department Fire Station 8 in service with new Engine 8 and Medic 8. This station is now fully staffed and open to serve the citizens of Denton.”

While construction for Denton Fire Station 8 won’t officially conclude for another few days, the Fire Department held an unofficial opening Friday to take possession of the newly built station.

The city of Denton’s first fire apparatus in 14 years will soon respond to emergencies from its base at 3131 Colorado Blvd. after being under construction for the past year.

“This is an ideal location,” Fire Department Chief Kenneth Hedges said. “It has easy access to the interstate corridor; obviously right behind us we have several assisted living centers, memory care centers, [and being here] will obviously speed up on response time.”

Denton Fire Station 8 is a station six years in the making and will now provide a work base and home away from home for up to six firefighters. The new station brings a new fire engine to the city to work alongside Medic 8, an ambulance that was previously operating out of an old classroom at Medical City Denton.

Station 8’s location will provide quick responses to emergencies around Denton’s southeastern medical corridor, where officials identified a hole in response in 2015.

Previously, emergency calls in the area near Brinker Road and Colorado Boulevard had a response from Denton Fire Station 2 on Mockingbird Lane, Central Fire Station on East Hickory Street or Fire Station 6 on Teasley Lane, south of Loop 288.

The new station’s service area will expand out to Interstate 35E and further south to the Denton State Supported Living Center.

Staff from the station hoisted the U.S. and Texas flags. To keep with tradition, staff and Hudspeth pushed Engine 8 into the bay. Hedges said the tradition dates back to when fire departments used horses to pull fire apparatuses.

“Fire services is heavy in tradition, and this is something we’ve continued to do, and it’s [done] pretty much across the U.S.,” Hedges said. “It’s very standardized when you have a new unit or a new station, usually you push it in to simulate the past.”

At about 8,500 square feet, Station 8 is the smallest of the newer stations, which includes Stations 2, 3 and 4.

Construction for Station 3 also wrapped up this month. The newly improved station, nicknamed “The Nuthouse” for its proximity to the University of North Texas and Lucky the Squirrel, was built on the corner of McCormick Street and I-35E. The original station was first built in 1971 and was the oldest fire station still in operation in Denton.

Station 3’s new building is 16,000 square feet, three times the size of the former building. Battalion Chief David Boots, a spokesperson for the department, said it has four bays instead of two and will house the department’s second battalion chief.

“It will eventually house a second truck company in the future,” he said. “That station can house up to 12 people. It’s built for growth.”