By summer 2018, they will get a massive, new, state-of-the-art home.

Designed by architecture and urban design firm Studio Gang, the 20,000-square-foot station will feature an obstacle course and a pit to practice underground rescues. On the edge of the roof terrace will be hooks to practice scaling the building — which firemen often need to do in real-life situations.

"It strikes a balance between being inviting to the community yet robust and secure enough to withstand training so they can do their job," the station's project designer, Weston Walker, tells Business Insider.

On July 28, the studio and FDNY's Rescue Company 2 celebrated the $32 million station's ground breaking.

To design the new station, the architects asked the firefighters what they needed from the new station. 

Rescue Company 2 is one of five elite rescue companies in New York City, which means that in addition to fires, they also respond if there's an emergency situation like a collapsed buildings or people trapped underwater or under a car.

According to the Company's feedback, the new station will have a large, open central area, so that firefighters have room to drag their rigs, Walker says. Several training rooms will be located off of that main atrium. The station will also be the first in NYC to include large garage doors in the front and back, so that trucks can drive in and out quickly.

The department has been relying on a 1997 fire engine that has served it well, but with its age the costs of repairs and maintenance made it necessary to replace. Robertson said the engine currently has brakes, maintenance and electrical issues.

“It has an emergency brake that doesn't work,” Robertson gave as an example of the older truck's problems. “We would get to a fire, have to turn off the engine, get out, chock the tires, get back in and start the engine, then hook up the hoses.”

Parker County Emergency Services District No. 7 acquired the new $354,000 fire truck for the Cool-Garner VFD on a 12-year lease purchase, with a service life expectancy of 20-25 years.

Still, fire chief Antonio “Tony” Lopez assured this week that it’s what the fire truck can do that will improve emergency response in the community.

Dubbed as “state-of-the-art,” the 2016 Ferrara Cinder Rescue Pumper measures 36 feet and 5 inches in length and weighs in at 47,102 pounds and 8 ounces. It comes equipped with a 1,750 gallon-per-minute pump, with 1,000-gallon capacity, and is dual-purposed for emergency medical services.

Lopez said the city acquired the truck on a $525,000 lease purchase agreement, which amounts to annual payments of $53,000 for 10 years. The fire chief also noted that the expenditure was funded through the City of Weslaco’s Apparatus Replacement Program, which earmarks 25 percent of in-house EMS revenues — as much as $1.6 million was reported during the last fiscal year — toward such purchases.

After Lopez was named the fire chief in 2015, he conducted an assessment of the department’s resources and fleet, which allowed him to identify a need for several upgrades. In March, for instance, the department purchased 2016 Ford F-450 twin ambulance units on a $340,000 lease purchase.

Big Blue, as the new truck is affectionately named, is the latest in a series of purchases made possible thanks to the program, which Lopez has credited city leadership for implementing, and strengthens the fleet to three. The 2004 unit the new truck replaces will be used in a backup capacity.