Hewitt officials, residents celebrate opening of city's 2nd fire station

Hewitt leaders and first responders held a ceremonial "hose cutting" and public open house Friday afternoon to open the city's second fire station, a project aimed at improving response times and expanding emergency coverage as the city grows.

The new facility at 311 N. Old Temple Road includes six private bedrooms to accommodate future staffing growth and three vehicle bays with enough space to house multiple fire engines, Hewitt Fire Chief Jonathan Christian said.

The station will give firefighters more coverage in the eastern part of Hewitt and help the department keep pace with the city's growing call volume, Christian said.

"The fact that our current station was sort of isolated … it was hard to get on this side," Christian said after the ceremony. "So this station actually provides us with a much better response time to cover the whole city." National standards call for a four-minute arrival time for the first unit responding to a fire.

The project stems from $6 million in bonds issued by the city council in 2023. Christian said about $4.2 million was spent on construction of the roughly 9,000-square-foot station.

Christian said competitive bids on multiple design choices allowed the city to add several extra features while remaining cost-efficient.

Plans for the station originally called for two apparatus bays but ultimately expanded to include a third bay with side-folding doors and added lightning protection, Christian said. The doors open in about six seconds, faster than traditional roll-up doors, and require less maintenance, he said.

The department also simplified parts of the building's design to reduce costs, including using smaller, more compact air conditioning units and concentrating plumbing on one side of the building. Christian said those savings made the total cost about $100 less per square foot than a typical fire station.

Christian described the kitchen area as "the heart of the station," saying it will serve as a gathering place for firefighters during their shifts and that it reflects the effort crews put into making the new facility feel more like home.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 4:43 AM.