CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — One of the oldest and busiest fire stations — Fire Station 3 located near Morgan Ave. and 12th Street — in Corpus Christi will soon be moving to a new location
Neighborhood news reporter Naidy Escobar spoke to Fire Chief Brandon Wade with the City of Corpus Christi, who gave us an update on what the community could expect from this new facility.
A nearly $11 million project will have Fire Station # 3 moving across the street in April of 2025.
If you are driving down Morgan, you may have noticed a new building that is being constructed— that will be the new Fire Station #3.
TAKE A LOOK AT THE BLUEPRINTS FOR THE NEW FIRE STATION NUMBER 3
“This is kind of in the heart of the city. It is one of our oldest fire stations and soon to be one of our newly replaced stations with a brand new station that is gonna be just across the street," Wade said.
Chief Wade adds that this facility is one of the special operation stations.
"We have a rescue truck, we have trailers to support the mission, and also, we have developed as a workforce as well. Back in the 70s, it was mainly men that were in the department. Now, we have women in the organization," he said.
The 70-year-old firehouse is considered one of the busiest stations, not only in the city but in the state and in the country he confirmed.
Fire Chief Wade tells KRIS 6 News the new facility will be a game changer.
“The new station is gonna provide that separation from their working environment to their rest environment. Also, we’re gonna have a diesel exhaust system in there, which will try to keep, you know, the carcinogens away from our firefighters," he added.
Wade said cancer is a problem that’s in the fire service because of what the firefighters are exposed to.
"What we try to do is design our fire station so we can limit the exposure to our firefighters inside the living facility. The last thing we want to do is bring in the dirt and the grime that we do every day on the job into our living and working space," he said.
The new station will be built with a hot zone, warm zone, and cold zone environment. This will allow the firefighters to be clean before heading into their living area.
Not only will it benefit the firefighters but also the community
“When you have something like that (a new facility), it uplifts the community, so we’re very proud to be able to put just a beautiful facility that belongs to the citizens in the community and have it right here in the heart of the city," he said.
Chief Wade tells us they worked with the Ed Rachel Foundation, which donated the land across the street, which is extremely beneficial for the station.
“Having that land right across the street allows us to have great response time, and as it goes up and it looks like a giant project, we just want to let the community know this is gonna be your new fire station. That’s gonna serve you for many years to come," he said.
The facility was set to open up in the fall of 2024, but due to some foundation issues, they are expecting to open up the new facility in April 2025.
A couple of the firefighters said they are excited about the new facility and can't wait for it to be finished.
Chief Wade tells us the city is investing in the future of the fire stations—they aim to replace half of them within the next ten years.
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