More than 10 years after its inception, the Willowfork Fire Department opened its second fire station April 22 at 26950 Cinco Ranch Blvd.

Substantial population growth in Cinco Ranch and the southwest quadrant of Katy ISD has called for increased service, and shift captain Dan Aryes said Station No. 2 will help with quicker response times and better overall coverage.

"We can better serve in the community and spread our apparatuses out," he said.

The new station houses four staff fire fighters at any given time and can accommodate 12 volunteer fire fighters. It also features a kitchen, living area and training room up for use by other departments and other organizations, such as homeowners associations. It was also built to be hurricane proof.

To combat area fires, the station holds two fire engines and one brush truck meant for fighting grassland fires.

Willowfork Fire Department boasts an Insurance Services Office rating of Class 2 on a scale of one to 10. Station No. 1 is at 24655 Westheimer Parkway, just more than three miles from the new station. Aryes said the department has future plans for a third station, but a timeline and location has yet to be determined.