Missouri City is in the process of constructing its newest fire station along Waters Lake Boulevard in Sienna Plantation. The project is expected to be completed in the summer and will be the city's fifth fire station. City officials said the new station was necessitated by continued residential growth in the area and an overburdened Fire Station No. 4.

"As the area has grown, a new fire station is needed to serve Sienna South and relieve Fire Station No. 4," said Russell Sander, Missouri City's Fire and Rescue Chief. "The response time from Fire Station No. 4 is not in alignment with national guidelines, and the number of runs occurring in Sienna presented a need for Fire Station No. 5."

The $2.3 million project has been a joint venture between the city, the local municipal utility district and Sienna Plantation. The new station was designed by Houston-based Hall Barnum Lucchesi Architects and will feature four equipment bays, on-site dorms, offices and an exercise space. The cost of the 8,266-square-foot facility also includes the purchase of a new fire engine and new fire and rescue staff members, Sander said.

"The fire truck that will be housed in that station has already been ordered and delivered to Fire and Rescue, and the city is in the process of ordering equipment for the truck," he said. "We are also in the process of hiring staff to work in the new station."

Missouri City is currently working on a proposed $40 million bond package that would consist of several projects, including $5 million for the construction and implementation of Fire Station No. 6, which is expected to be constructed along Lake Olympia Drive at the intersection of the future Vicksburg Drive extension, city officials said.