The Waco Fire Department says someone broke into the station sometime between Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m. and Wednesday at 11 a.m. and took numerous items.  

Among the items stolen: a Stihl K-12 saw, Stihl chain saws, Stihl leaf blowers, a Honda generator, a Titan industrial generator, a Flir k-45 thermal imaging camera, a Mig welder and a stick welder.

“The items that were stolen are valuable tools for our firefighters to efficiently do our job saving lives and property,” the fire department says on its Facebook page.

City officials said Hasenstab Architects has been hired to create the architectural design, and KZF Design is providing fire-station-specific consulting and expertise to ensure the new station meets the latest industry standards and best practices. The design of the new station will preserve and incorporate historic elements of the existing station, including the iconic “Boy and Girl Under Umbrella” fountain, which was donated to the city in the 1880s. A preliminary rendering of the new station is shown above.  

The new station will have: three full apparatus bays, one more than the existing station; a 500-square-foot office space for an Akron Police Department satellite office; living quarters for six firefighter/medics; a training room with a triage station to serve emergency walk-in patients; equipment decontamination facilities; and an air drying hose tower.

The former Fire Station No. 3 was built in 1903, just a few years after the devastating 1900 Galveston hurricane. It was the first fire station in the city to integrate. But, despite all that history, the station’s been abandoned since the late 1980s. 

A decontamination bucket with specific instructions is among the newest additions to the Mission Fire Department. The decontamination bucket aims to wipe away health risks that firefighters are exposed to on a daily basis. It also includes hazard wipes, trash bags for contaminated items, disposable gloves and a broom brush.

"We address concerns that our fire suppression staff has placed to us,” said Mission Fire Chief Gilbert Sanchez. “We are trying to remedy as best as possible."

While its not the first, the recent kidney cancer diagnosis to one of their fellow firefighters is just a reminder to do all they can to stay safe.