Staffed by six fire captains and firefighters/paramedics who work rotating 24-hour shifts in pairs, Squad 33 uses a custom Ford F-550 pickup equipped with a 150-gallon water tank and advanced medical equipment.

With one fire captain and one firefighter/paramedic on each shift, the set-up enables the captain to assess the scope of the emergency and request additional resources if needed.

Most of the calls in the area that the department fields — about 80 percent of them — are related to medical issues, said Frank Parra, the city’s emergency services director.

This facility will serve the northwest part of the city, including the Summit View Lake and Heatherwood neighborhoods. It will also serve as a training facility for firefighters throughout the department, Kistner said.

Gardner said call times in the area continuously exceed the recommended national standard response times and that a lack of a fire station could impact common insurance policies or rates for homeowners in the area. The department announced last year that it received the second-highest classification from the Insurance Service Office, which can result in savings on insurance premiums for Leander homeowners and businesses.