Since his time serving as fire chief of the Sam Bass Fire Department in the 1970s, Bob Steinman said rising waters at Brushy Creek often have been an obstacle for first responders.
"When that creek is roaring you have to go all the way around it, and it added about 30 minutes to response time," he said.
With the opening of the Sam Bass Fire Department's Fire Station No. 3, residents living north of Brushy Creek will be a little safer.
The Fire Department, which is contracted by Williamson County ESD #2 for services, celebrated the opening of its newest fire station Thursday at 2351 Great Oaks Drive with a fire hose uncoupling, followed by firefighters pushing the fire engine into the station, per tradition. The event was open to county officials, contractors and architects associated with the project. A public open house and celebration at the fire station will be scheduled in the near future.
Williamson County Commissioner Terry Cook, ESD No. 2 President Thomas Nanninga and Sam Bass Fire Chief David Kieschnick attended the ceremony.
Steinman also stopped by the event, where he displayed his fire chief's car he used when he served the Fire Department.
Kieschnick said the department previously covered the area north of the creek from Fire Station No. 1, at 17505 Great Oaks Dr.
"It's about two and a half miles down south of here and we'd have problems with traffic at Hairy Man Road and at Brushy Creek," he said. "We'd have problems if the creek ever rose above the bridge. Having this north of the creek is very good for us."
Kieschnick said response times have improved since the new fire station opened April 29.
"We've noticed anywhere from a four- to six-minute response time decrease to areas up north of here on Sam Bass Road, Brushy Creek North and Sendero Springs, Tonkawa Springs area, so that's been fabulous for us," he said.
Construction on the $4.5 million fire station began in January 2018 and was completed in April. Funding for the new station was provided by a loan with Government Capital, a financial institution that specializes in financing for government entities, Nanninga said.
The architect for the project was Brinkley Sargent Wiginton. The contractor was Chasco Constructors.
Steinman, who lives in Brushy Creek Park, said that while the new station is valuable to the area, he would like to see Sam Bass Road widenedto make response times even faster.
"It's something that needs to be done and soon," he said. "More houses are going up out here, so that's more people and more congestion. We need to make sure these people are protected."
———
©2019 Austin American-Statesman, Texas
Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
