A heated and packed open house featured an architect presentation of designs for a fire station at the intersection of Hutton and Leavenworth roads.

The $4 million project will include three bays for fire rigs, plus a decontamination zone with positive air pressure to limit exposure to cancerous toxins. 

Those who attended the meeting had no problem with the design; rather, the project timeline raised questions.

Firefighters had to use struts, straps, and large chains to stabilize all involved vehicles before they could begin the work of safely removing all of the injured.

A firefighter and a Johnson County Med-Act paramedic were lifted through the emergency window of the bus to start evaluating injuries inside as other firefighters worked to cut a hole in the wall of the bus.

One-by-one the injured passengers of the bus were lifted off and then moved across the scene to Johnson County Med-Act’s triage area where their injuries would be evaluated further.

After all of the victims had been removed from the vehicles, firefighters and paramedics gathered to discuss the drill and assess their response and handling of the various aspects.

The Abilene City Council may approve a contract with architectural firm Corgan to redesign the airport’s fire station.

"The cost of that is about $151,978. It's being funded with 90 percent FAA funds and 10 percent from the 2015 bonds, Proposition 9," said Michael Rice, Abilene's Assistant City Manager.

New Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting trucks are getting bigger, making for a tight fit inside of the airport's fire station.

In three years, Abilene Regional Airport plans to purchase a new fire truck with the anticipation that it will be even bigger than the most recent fire truck that they have purchased.

Earlier this year, the school received a $10.4 million federal grant to build the new center.

The state-of-the-art building will help firefighting students complete their FAA-required training. It will also help bridge the gap in the Midwest with recent ARFF facility closures in Minnesota and Michigan.