(Seguin) — Two donated buildings are expected to help Guadalupe County Fire Rescue speed up its emergency response time throughout some of the county’s fastest-growing areas.
The Guadalupe County Commissioners Court recently accepted the donation of two former temporary fire station buildings from the City of San Antonio Fire Department. County officials say the structures will be moved to strategic locations and used as temporary substations as Guadalupe County Fire Rescue continues to expand.
Patrick Pinder, Guadalupe County fire marshal and emergency management coordinator, says the buildings offer the county an opportunity to quickly establish additional emergency response locations without immediately having to build new permanent fire stations.
“With the growth of Guadalupe County and the growth of Guadalupe County Fire Rescue, we worked with the City of San Antonio and their fire department to get two temporary fire stations. When I say temporary, temporary for us could mean a 10- or 15-year structure. San Antonio had been working out of these facilities until they built new fire stations, and they were able to donate them to us. We received them at no cost. We just have to pay the cost to move them here,” said Pinder.
He says the buildings are similar to large modular or double-wide structures and were previously used by San Antonio firefighters.
Pinder says the county plans to use them to strategically place firefighters, equipment and other emergency resources closer to residents.
The first building is expected to be located near Marion Middle School. The property is also the future location of the Guadalupe County Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 office.
Pinder says firefighters will operate from the location.
“We’re going to place that structure at our county facility in Marion and start running apparatus and staffing out of that location. That’s going to give those residents in that area another additional resource to run alongside McQueeney, Marion, Lake Dunlap and New Berlin. When a call comes in, we’ll have resources available, and if there are multiple calls, we can support those multiple calls by working together,” said Pinder.
The donated buildings are part of what county officials describe as “a phased approach to expanding fire protection as Guadalupe County grows.”
Rather than waiting years for permanent fire stations to be designed and constructed, Pinder says the county can have a presence in many of these fast-growing areas.
Pinder says the county is also moving forward with plans to convert another existing building into a future fire station.
This involves the remodeling of the former Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 building along State Highway 725.
The building, currently used for other county operations, will be redesigned to accommodate firefighters and emergency operations.
“The court allocated funding to remodel the old JP 4 building and turn an existing business occupancy into a residential and fire facility that will allow for fire staffing to be located there. That project is going to take us a little bit longer. We’re currently going through architect selection, and once we have a design, we’ll be able to move forward with the remodel,” said Pinder.
Pinder says the remodeled facility could begin housing emergency resources by late 2027 or early 2028.
He says the donated temporary buildings and future remodeled station demonstrate the county’s effort to prepare for growth while making responsible use of available resources.
“We know the growth is coming. We know the growth is here. We’re trying to get to that point and provide those resources for our residents. We can’t do it overnight, and we need everybody’s support, but the county is thinking into the future and looking at ways to put firefighters and equipment closer to the citizens who need them,” said Pinder.
Guadalupe County currently works with eight volunteer fire departments, while also contracting with municipal fire services in various parts of the county.
Officials say the new substations will continue to work alongside the county’s existing network of municipal and volunteer fire departments.