Brownsville Police Department Spokeswoman Melissa Gonzalez said Luis Reyna Zuniga's family told police the last time they saw the elderly man was about 5:30 p.m.

 

During the course of the investigation, Gonzalez said police requested the Brownsville Fire Department join the search and deploy a drone in the effort to locate Zuniga, who suffers from unspecified medical conditions. At 11:11 p.m., Brownsville Fire Department drone operator Desi Tristan spotted Zuniga sitting in tall grass in a field by the levee in the vicinity of W. 5th Street and Ramireno Lane.

City Manager Andrew Trivette presented emergency response data, possible locations for a second station and potential renovation plans during the City Council work session Monday night.  

The idea of a second fire station was prompted by the need to renovate the existing station, which was built in 1978.

Based on a study conducted by a hired consultant, Trivette has proposed several options for improving fire-rescue operations, including renovating the existing fire station on Lafayette Street, building a new second fire station, or a combination of both.

In announcing the grant, the watershed corporation noted the current  Company 5 station, at 4067 Route 28, was inundated water when the nearby Esopus Creek flooded during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

 

The expected cost of the new fire station was not immediately available. The land where the new facility will be built is owned by Clark Ulmer and is part of a 29-acre parcel. The town will have to approve a subdivision of the land before the fire station can be built.

“This station is positioned in a critical location to protect the citizens on the west side of Gun Barrel City. The new station has shortened our response times. In just the last month, the equipment from this station has responded to four major residential structure fires and several medical calls within blocks of the station.”  

The event, from noon to 2 p.m., will include a tour of the station, along with free hot dogs, chips, cookies and soft drinks.

“Members of the fire department will be there to host the event and to answer any questions about our new facility and the fire equipment that will be on display,” the press release shows.

"It'll give us a better facility for the firefighters who work there and the paramedics," said Al Thomas, Nashville Fire Marshal

The new facility will be located on Andrew Jackson Parkway, the dividing roadway between Metro District 12 and 11. 

The hope is for the new station to serve more residents in the Hermitage and Donelson areas.