The department broke ground in April on its new Fire Station 12, and in July, construction began on the state-of-the-art Irving-Grand Prairie Fire Training Facility near State Highway 161 and Belt Line Road. The department also is increasing its fleet this year by adding two 100-foot tiller-ladder trucks, one of which will be assigned to Fire Station 12, while the other will be assigned to Fire Station 3.
Completion of Fire Station 12 is anticipated in March. The 12,000-square-foot facility will be located at 2995 Regent Blvd. in north Irving, near the Hackberry Creek subdivision. The new station’s location was selected to reduce response times in and around the Hackberry Creek, La Villita and Valley Ranch neighborhoods. In 2013, studies were conducted that revealed this area lacked the proper coverage to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard on response times. According to the NFPA, the first piece of fire apparatus must arrive in four minutes or less, while the total response of 15 firefighters must arrive within eight minutes. The study showed Fire Department response times in the area were two to four minutes later than the requirement, a problem the new Fire Station 12 is expected to fix.
The station will house an Advanced Life Support ambulance, a 1,500-gallon-per-minute fire engine and a ladder truck. According to the Fire Department, ladder trucks are an invaluable asset to the city, given the current and future development of high-density areas. With the help of these highly maneuverable tiller ladder trucks, firefighters can gain access to residents in need of help.
The addition of Fire Station 12, the Irving-Grand Prairie Fire Training Facility, and the fifth ladder truck placed at station 12 will be the final components required to propel Irving to an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 1. Irving’s current public protection classification is a rating of ISO-2. The station is funded through $3.9 million in bond funds that Irving residents approved in the 1999 and 2006 bond elections.
