The Woodlands Township and the Woodlands Fire Department held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, August 22, 2024, marking the start of construction on a new Fire Station No. 5. The new fire station will be located at 8001 McBeth Way near Sterling Ridge Park and Ride and will feature 23,000 square feet.
“Building this fire station has long been a goal of the current and past Boards,” said Board Chair Dr. Ann K. Snyder. “Today marks an incredibly important step in ensuring the safety and well-being of our residents and villages. This project would not be possible without the collaboration of the Woodlands Fire Department, Township President/CEO Monique Sharp, the Montgomery County Hospital District, and all of the staff, emergency responders and firefighters who worked to make this possible. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who contributed.”
Vice Chairman Kyle Watson echoed that sentiment. “It’s important to thank the directors before us and all the staff involved,” he said. “The construction of this fire station is a symbol of the community’s ongoing commitment to public safety in The Woodlands.”
“This project has been a long time coming,” said Palmer Buck, Chief of the Woodlands Fire Department. “I have been here for five years and we have worked diligently since I started to make this station a reality. We are grateful that this work is coming to fruition today with Jeremy Stovall of Brookstone Construction, architect Ricardo Martinez, and Randy Johnson and Melissa Miller of MCHD. We also thank the Brazos Transit District for their support of this project by transferring land for the construction of the new station.”
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The new two-story station meets the department’s expansion needs and is located out of the area of a high-traffic school zone, allowing it to be much closer to Woodlands Parkway and respond more efficiently to its service area. The new construction will include features such as traditional fire poles to enable rapid response, as well as state-of-the-art technology. Once completed, Station #5 will serve as the Woodlands Fire Department’s West Headquarters and will house nine firefighters who will man a pumper and ladder company, as well as a battalion chief and a Montgomery County Hospital District (MCHD) ambulance with two to three paramedics.
The need for a new fire station arose due to structural issues that were causing the existing facility at West Branch Crossing to deteriorate. A 2019 study by Terracon Consulting found that many of the previously documented conditions had worsened, and that new or previously unknown structural issues with the facility were also identified. After evaluating the results, it was determined that the cost to correct all of the structural issues at Station #5, as well as expand the existing station to accommodate another fire department, would be equal to the cost of building a new fire station.
Construction is being led by Brookstone Construction and design by Martinez Architects. The total cost of the project is $12.1 million. Construction is expected to take 14 months and completion is scheduled for late 2025.
The Woodlands Fire Department is a leader in fire protection and prevention and is classified as Public Protection Class 1, commonly referred to as ISO 1.
Source: The Woodlands Township
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