(Guadalupe County) — A major milestone has been reached for Guadalupe County Fire Rescue as construction officially moves forward on its first permanent fire station, marking a significant step in the department’s growth.
Last week county officials announced that concrete was poured at the future site of Station 71, located at FM 758 and Huber Road.
Patrick Pinder, Guadalupe County emergency management coordinator and fire marshal, says the moment has been years in the making.
“This has been a long process that we’ve been working on for several years. We started this construction process about two years ago with the architects and bringing on the contractors. Guido Construction is our contractor and BSW Architects is the architects who designed the fire station and the emergency operations center. And we’re getting to that point, which today was a mile marker where we actually started to pour the foundation. They’ve been working diligently for the last few months, broke ground in September, end of September, beginning of October on the sites.
And so, on both sites, the fire station is located on 758 and Huber, and then the Emergency Operations Center warehouse is the location across the street from the sheriff’s office. So that site hasn’t quite poured concrete yet, but the fire station has, and that’s a very exciting times for Guadalupe County Fire Rescue,” said Pinder.
Pinder says the new station represents the first of its kind for Guadalupe County Fire Rescue, a department established in 2020 to support local volunteer fire departments and meet increasing emergency demands tied to the county’s growth.
Up until now, Pinder says firefighters have operated out of a temporary facility that will also soon change.
“We’ve been operating out of a temporary site for about 3, 3 1/2 years across the street from the sheriff’s office. And currently, with that site coming up, with it by the end of this year, we should be operating out of that site. So, what folks will start seeing in that area is the steel start to go up, the siding coming in — the site work’s going to start to begin, and it’s just going to start to look like a building again,” said Pinder.
Pinder says the construction of these stations is a true investment in the fast-growing community. He says the best part is that the project is being funded through federal relief dollars.
“The price tag on that building is about six and a half million. The total project construction between both projects is about $18 million. And we just want to remind folks that – that was a grant. That was funds that were brought in from ARPA money. And so, the county utilized those funds and put that towards those projects. So, we’re using good resources and turning that into making sure that we’re serving the public by putting a fire station in an area that’s needed, an area that’s growing right there at 758 and 123. And we’ve got other projects in the works also,” said Pinder.
Although the county is still nailing down times and dates, Pinder says it’s important for him that community members also take part in celebrating the project.
Pinder says, “We’re going to do what’s called a beam signing. And we’ll have a piece of steel at the site. Most people do a dirt shovel turn, but we’ve already been past that point. So, when the steel hits the ground, we want people to sign it. And then when the contractor gets ready to set it, they’re going to put it up in the station and it’ll stay there as long as that building’s there. And so, everybody will have a chance to have a piece of Guadalupe County Fire Rescue.”
Since its creation, the department has rapidly expanded — transitioning from limited daytime coverage in 2022 to full 24/7 operations in 2023. Today, crews respond to more than 1,500 calls annually, a number that Pinder says continues to climb in the rapidly growing county.