Denton City Council and staff gave updates on three public safety initiatives for the city, including an increase in fire service calls to new speed limits near Nelson Elementary School.
The overview
The Denton fire department received 24,436 calls for service in 2025, up from 23,012 in 2024, according to a report from Denton Fire Chief Kenneth Hedges.
The two biggest increases came from hazmat responses and rescues. Hazmat calls increased by just over 10 percentage points, from 419 in 2025 to 462 in 2025, and rescue calls increased by 16 percentage points, from 835 to 969.
The rescue and hazmat calls were primarily caused by motor vehicle accidents. Accidents on I-35 caused oil spills requiring hazmat services, and vehicle accidents can require the fire department to extract an accident victim from the vehicle, necessitating a rescue call, Hedges said.
Gas leaks from road and residential construction also contributed to the increase in hazmat calls, Hedges said.
Fire calls increased from 497 in 2024 to 504 in 2025, EMS services went up from 14,812 to 14,903 and alarm calls were down from 6,939 to 6,478, per Hedges’ report.
What else?
At the April 21 meeting, City Council also approved $750,000 for the design of Fire Station 10, a new fire station that will serve Robson Ranch and the Landmark master-planned community. At a February meeting, Hedges said the new fire station will improve response times in Robson Ranch.
Designs for the fire station are scheduled to be completed by March 2027, city documents state.
The current fire station closest to Robson Ranch, Fire Station 7, has a response to Robson Ranch of about nine minutes, Hedges said in February. The new station will lower the response to around four minutes.
One more thing
The 30 mph school zone speed limit on Teasley Lane near Nelson Elementary School will now extend 200 feet north through the intersection at Teasley Lane and Hunter’s Creek Road.
City staff received requests from community members who live near Nelson Elementary to extend the school zone speed limit to improve safety for students who walk and bike to school, city documents state.
