The department has four total fire engines – one frontline engine for each of the three stations and one reserve. One of the current frontline engines will be moved to the reserve position and be replaced with the new engine.

While details haven't been finalized as of yet, the city chose to move forward with the contract because they were under a time crunch according to Fire Chief Tom Rosandich.

Rosandich said he wanted to stay within the budget and Pierce is planning a three-percent price increase. He said if the contract was signed by Feb. 1 they don't get a price increase. Rosandich said there is a chance it could come in cheaper than the approved $575,000 cost which was included in the 2017 budget.

The '96 engine will be taken to auction where Rosandich estimates the city could get around $20,000 for it.

The city is still finalizing all the engine components as all engines are custom created, according to Rosandich.

On Tuesday, members approved spending over $2.5 million dollars on new trucks.
WFFD has four trucks over 20-years-old and one over 30.
That is why council members agreed to spending the money on a ladder truck, squad vehicle and three pumpers.
Jon Reese, Wichita Falls Fire Chief, said it had to be done.
    "The biggest thing is that some of the equipment is non-compliant with the new N.F.P.A. standards, which requires firefighters to be in a fully enclosed cab," Chief Reese said. "There's a lot of safety upgrades that we see in new technology with the new equipment. When you see the trucks running down the road, they look like they are new, but they are really running 20 to 30-year-old equipment."
Darron Leiker, City Manager of Wichita Falls, said the city has money allocated for these type of purchases.
    "We plan for that in advance," Leiker said. "We have a capitol improvement plan for all of our equipment, including our fire equipment."
Leiker said the city actually avoided a three percent price hike by buying the trucks now, rather than in the spring.
Chief Reese believes the top of the line equipment will save lives.
    "When we get an alarm, we want to go out there and start the starter, the truck or engine to transport the firefighters safely to the scene," Chief Reese said. "That's a huge part of our job when we look at minutes and seconds of response time."

A third station is necessary for the district in order to keep pace with growth in the north Fort Bend County service area and the general increase in the number of service calls throughout the district's entire territory, according to fire officials.

Station #3 will primarily serve the surrounding subdivisions of Cardiff Ranch, Cinco Ranch Northwest, Grayson Lakes, Hawk's Landing, Pinemill Ranch, Silver Ranch and Westlake.

Fort Bend County ESD No. 2, which operates the Willowfork Fire Department, recently solicited sealed competitive proposals for the construction project. On Sept. 28, 2016 the district's board approved a $3.9 million construction contract with Teal Construction Co. as the general contractor for the Construction funding is being managed through the district's cash reserves and no borrowed funds will be necessary to complete this project which will save the taxpayers having to incur additional interest expense.

The facility was designed by BRW Architects, a firm that has designed several fire stations in the Harris and Fort Bend county areas. project.

Conroe Fire Department Station 7 and the department's first-ever training facility are set to be open by the end of the year. The two facilities will be located on 20 acres in Conroe Industrial Park off FM 1484.

But with the planned three-story burn building, six-story rescue tower and 2-acre driving pad, firefighters are able to train in their own back yard. The burn building will house Class A burning material, meaning wood and hay instead of Class B burning material like propane.

Nesom said The Woodlands Fire Department's training facility, located in the 16100 block of Interstate 45 North, uses the latter, which burns cleaner. But Class A material, Nesom said, is closer to what firefighters will experience in an actual home or business fire.

The city is paying about $4.3 million for the training facility, according to Conroe Fire Chief Ken Kreger.

On the fire suppression side, Station 7 will house one fire engine that will be staffed with four personnel at one time. The new station will cost about $5.2 million, which includes paying for new fire truck, equipment for the fire truck, and equipment for new firefighters.

To help staff the station, the Conroe Fire Department is hiring 12 new firefighters, each to be hired in threes over the next few months. Three will be hired in January, while the other nine will be hired in March, July and September.

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