Begun last October, the station was designed and built by Cincinnati United Contractors. Firefighters were dispatch on their first run – a medical call – from the station on Wednesday. “I’m proud of our township team because we were able to bring this project in under budget and ahead of schedule,’’ said Shannon Hartkemeyer, president of the board of trustees. Originally budgeted at $4 million, final cost came in at $3.8 million, Hartkemeyer explained.  The 15,750-square foot, single-story, brick station with a steel roof, sits on a three-acre site on the west side of Gilmore Road near the StoryPoint senior housing complex.

The new fire truck is the first of its kind in central Arkansas. 

It allows the department to run and carry multiple tools at one time, designed to get out if you're trapped in a wrecked car. 

Conway Fire says it was a crucial investment, especially due to the number of accidents they respond to. 

The issue was discovered last week during an annual certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  

According to Richard McCurley, the acting senior vice president of operations at T.F. Green Airport, an internal inspection revealed one of the R. I. Airport Corporation's three fire trucks was not able to pump the correct mixture of foam and water. Foam is used as a fire suppressant.

The 20th century had just begun, Brownsville’s fire department was based in Market Square with a pumper wagon that was hauled by a fire horse, but the city was realizing that this was not enough.  

“Brownsville was in a boom. We had just built a hotel prior to that in 1921 that was a 10 story hotel in 1921 we built the State National Bank which was five stories on Elizabeth Street we didn’t have the machinery in order to get to those levels,” said Eugene Fernandez, Commissioner of the Cameron County Historical Commission. 

Almost ten years after buying a pumper truck in 1918 the city decided to further commit to protect its citizens by buying an even larger fire unit that was a full fifty-five feet in length.