City officials celebrated the completion of the remodel with an uncoupling ceremony Aug. 29.
What is it?
An uncoupling ceremony is a fire station's version of a ribbon-cutting ceremony following the opening of a new facility or significant renovations. Officials "uncouple" or separate two fire hoses, symbolizing the completion of the fire department's work on the new station.
Some details
The renovations were funded through a $10 million public safety tax note approved by New Braunfels City Council in August 2022, as previously reported by Community Impact. Additional funding was allocated from the city's fiscal year 2025 general fund, Scott McClelland, assistant director of transportation & capital improvement, said.
In an email to Community Impact, Communications Manager David Ferguson said just under $300,000 was added out of the general fund to pave and fence the parking lot.
As previously reported by Community Impact, facility upgrades included:
- Adding a natural gas generator to provide power during outages and upgrading the station's electrical service to current building codes
- Removing personal protective equipment and workout equipment from the bay to allow vehicles to pull in from the rear and reduce safety risks on County Line Road
- Installing new bay doors
Why it matters
Previously, fire station gear was stored on the apparatus floor where the fire trucks were located. Each time a fire truck would start, the diesel exhaust, a carcinogen, would then accumulate on the fire gear, New Braunfels Fire Chief Ruy Lozano said.
Carcinogens are substances or agents that can lead to cancer—one of the biggest dangers to firefighters, Lozano said.
Now, the storage for firefighter gear has been relocated from the apparatus bay to a dedicated room with better ventilation. There is also a separate cleaning room for gear to ensure contaminated equipment stays away from living quarters.
"You're never supposed to take fire gear into the living area, so now it's separate also so it can be washed, decontaminated, dried and prevent all those long-term carcinogens that, unfortunately, have impacted the American fire service," Lozano told Community Impact.
