The $18 million station opened 10 years after the date originally projected when voters passed the 2003 Fire Levy (we reported on the schedule changes in 2015). It is now officially the central fire station for this area – home to Ladder 11, Engine 32, and Medic 32, as it had been before, plus the area’s battalion-chief unit, Battalion 7, moved to Station 32, from Station 29 in North Admiral.

Four firefighters will be on duty at all times. The station is equipped with sleeping quarters, a kitchen, bathrooms and showers, and an exercise gym.

It also has two bays to park two of its three vehicles and could be expanded to allow a third bay, Jackson said.

Crews onboard Seguin Fire Department’s Engine One were in route to a rescue call on Saturday afternoon when the wind started picking up. And then the unthinkable happened:

A tree fell on the truck.

“Literally slicing through the front tab, right between the driver and front passenger seat,” said Morgan Ash with the City of Seguin.

Thankfully, no one was injured.

Crews spent most of the day trimming trees in the area off Highway 46. Powerlines were snapped and mailboxes were down but no injuries were reported.

“It’s just miraculous that are still alive today,” Ash said.

Three vehicles currently make up the department's fleet - a 1984 Hahn pumper, a 1997  3-D and a Seagraves. The 1997 3-D is having maintenance issues and the manufacturer has gone out of business. Norwood does not have a ladder truck and depends on mutual aid for coverage when one is needed.

The employee fell from a silo about 25 feet, landing on a catwalk, which was still about 20 feet above the ground, according to the Turlock Rural Fire Department's Facebook page.

The Turlock Fire Department was called to the scene to aid in the aerial rescue with their ladder truck.