Reprint from the Progress Times - February 1, 2008
©Progress Times 2008 - All Rights Reserved

Mission celebrates opening of new central fire station

The Mission Fire Department fully arrived into the 21st century with the inauguration of its new central fire station and emergency operations center. A ribbon cutting ceremony and reception were held Monday, January 28, with state and local officials in attendance.

TAG International architectural firm oversaw the 3.5 million dollar renovation of the building that formerly housed the Mission Post Office. The structure now carries only a vague resemblance to its former use after a year and 10 months of completely reconstructing and expanding the facility.

At the reception, Fire Chief Ricardo Saldana contrasted the department’s rugged 1914 beginnings with a horse-drawn wagon and bucket brigade to its present status. The new 23,600-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is more than double the central station’s previous 10,000 square foot home at 415 W. Tom Landry.

Local dignitaries speaking at the reception included Mission Mayor Norberto Salinas; Geoff Hall, chairman of the Mission Redevelopment Authority; Javier Iruegas, chairman of the board with the Mission Chamber of Commerce; and City Manager Julio Cerda.

Council members Mayor Pro-Tem Leo Olivarez, Celestino Ramirez, Ruben Plata, and Norie Garza were also present. Fire department officials and personnel representing Reynosa, McAllen, Edinburg, Hidalgo, Alton, and La Joya were well represented.

Mayor Salinas noted the new construction projects the city has undertaken in the last 10 years: city hall, the police station, the central fire station, and the new Chamber of Commerce which will soon go out for bids, with a projected 2008 year-end completion. He stated all of the projects have been or will be accomplished without raising taxes, and projected a possible two- to three-cent tax decrease this fall.

Mayor Salinas later stated, "It’s a good addition for us that was very much needed in the city, and I am just glad that it’s built to the capacity…for a 20-25 year span. I am sure we’re going to need more fire stations as we grow. This is an ideal station that we needed so badly, and we finally got it done."

Chief Saldana commented, "It gives us more working room to function in…more privacy to discuss personnel matters, operational issues, emergency issues—room for growth."

The choice of the old Mission post office was twofold. First was price; the city got a great deal. Second was for Insurance Rating Organization purposes. The IRO recommends a centralized fire station within the central business district.

Mission previously brought the IRO ratings for the city from six to four. They are due for another rating review this year, with hopes that it will come down to a two with the central station’s completion. Improved IRO ratings can translate into savings on residential and commercial insurance rates for property owners.

The old station was a "standing room only" facility with personnel, files, and equipment busting at the seams. The former building offered two front offices, a kitchen, dorm, and training room.  The cramped quarters created a nightmare for work function and paperwork storage, such as reviewing subdivision and building plans for conformity to fire codes.

Fire Marshall Gilbert Sanchez stated that one file would be stored in one space, and another would have to be kept elsewhere. Once all files were pulled, the fire inspectors then had to clear a desk to review it with the contractors. The tedium created work delays for all.

The new plan review offices now offer logistical economy of efficiency for the fire code inspectors. All inspectors are housed in a large room and each has their own desk and file storage. An adjacent room is designated for blueprints and maps with drafting tables, and a computer system allows for more rapid retrieval of files. Inspectors now have almost indestructible portable laptops and laser printers to give business owners immediate copies of paperwork while making on-site inspections.

The station reached its state-of-the-art status with its emergency operations and communications rooms. The emergency operations room has screens, computers, a cable network, and projectors, which allow the department to monitor the channels in the event of a disaster and to stay in touch with state agencies. It is also utilized as a firefighter training room when not used for emergency purposes.

The communications room handles fire and rescue emergency calls, dispatch, and houses the building’s security and entry systems, which makes the building compliant with Homeland Security guidelines.

The fire marshals now have their own section in the building with an interrogation room with full capacity to record interrogations—visual and audio. Fire marshals are a law enforcement agency. They investigate fire scenes by peeling back the layers of evidence to find the cause—incidental, accidental, or deliberate.

Firefighters work a 24-hour shift, on a rotation of three shifts. Expanded dorm space offers them a personal cubicle to rest between calls, to change clothes, and ample personal storage.

Their day room with kitchen is expansive with three refrigerators and three pantries, one for each shift rotation. A bank of red recliners surrounds the flat-screen television, and an extra large table offers a place to sit and share meals.

Six fire trucks can be housed in the new bays, and another area is designated for apparatus and evidence. A conference room with library, a media room, physical fitness room, and numerous individual offices round out the room-to-grow facility.

Railroad right-of-way to the east of the building was purchased by the city and will later be used for expanded parking and storage for evidence, their 40-foot HAZMAT trailer, the mobile fire safety house used for demonstrations, and the prop trailer used in the clown program.

Operating on a 3.7 million dollar annual budget, the Mission Fire Department operates with over 100 personnel, including 65 career and 25 volunteer firefighters. Federal grants have assisted the Mission Fire Department in increasing staff and equipment.

In addition to the new station, three substations are now in operation located at First Street and Dunlap in south Mission, on the east side at 3208 N. Shary next to Bannworth Park, and on the west at 3408 N. Inspiration Road.

The next station will be constructed in the southeast quadrant at Glasscock and Military Highway and is planned as a joint fire and police station. Long-term plans project a sixth station for the southwest quadrant near Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park and the World Birding Center.

Mission’s hard equipment now includes six pumper fire engines, two ladder trucks (100- and 61-foot); one heavy and one medium rescue truck; two water tankers for rural alarms; one small and one large brush truck; specialized rescue truck with equipment for dive, high rise, and high angle rescues; two boats, one for river and one for inland canals; a confined space trailer for equipment to handle events such as a trench collapse; and an RV for firefighter recuperation during long emergencies.

The Mission facility will also be made available for training purposes to assist fire personnel from neighboring cities.

The Mission Fire Department has accomplished so much in a relatively short period of time that departments from neighboring cities are looking to Mission for advice on how to receive cooperation within their communities to achieve similar results.

Chief Saldana listed the accomplishments of the past 10 years, noting that in that time the city had three city managers and only one mayor. He said Mayor Salinas met with department heads during his first term and asked for their goals. Salinas has supported the goals. Saldana felt that continuity in leadership and a shared vision were the cohesive factors for the final product.

Public tours of the new fire station are available for groups. Call Miriam Acevedo or Cecilia Vega at 580-8705 to schedule a time.