By George Slaughter
It’s been a long time coming for Katy city leaders, but the city will open its second fire station at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at 25420 Bell Patna Dr.
The dedication has long been anticipated by city officials after following some unexpected delays. The original location for the station was supposed to have been on west of Katy Mills Mall, but that site was left covered in water following the 2016 Tax Day floods. City leaders decided to another site for the station, thus the Bell Patna Drive location. Groundbreaking took place in December 2017.
The fire station’s location, just west of the Katy Mills Mall, enables the fire department to more quickly respond to situations south of I-10. The station is near Red Lobster and next to Caliber Collision at the end of a large cul-de-sac.
The new station is a three-bay, 13,000-square-foot building that cost $3.65 million to build.
The vehicles to be stationed there will be delivered by a long-standing fire department tradition at the dedication ceremony. They will be parked in the driveway in front of the station, and firefighters, officials, and well-wishers in attendance will “push back” the engine into the bay.
The station has several smaller locker rooms so the men and women firefighters have separate areas in which to change clothes. This was a change from the original design, which provided for one large locker room.
Voters in 2014 approved a $5 million bond to pay for the second fire station and a truck to be based there. A federal grant will pay for the second truck to be based at the station.
A SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for the 16 firefighters that will staff station.
Katy’s main fire station, and its administrative offices, remain at 1417 Avenue D.