Smith County ESD2 buys land to relocate fire stations

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Emergency Services District 2 recently purchased land to relocate several fire stations in order to reduce fire response times. Our news partner KETK spoke with Eric Greaser, Chief of Operations for Smith County Emergency Services District 2 (ESD2), on Tuesday about the new land the district has purchased to relocate fire stations near Dixie, Noonday, and Winona.

“These stations that were located here from the volunteer fire departments oftentimes were on donated land or the best that they could do at the time,” Greaser said. “It didn’t necessarily address access on major roadways or where the call volumes have evolved to. So this is a more strategic plan for acquiring these properties and making sure that we can have great access to those calls and reduce response times.”

Greaser explained that ESD2 can see what areas of the county need additional firefighting improvements by mapping out where the most fire calls are made, allowing them to compare areas with more or less coverage.

“So, for example, if there are only 1 or 2 calls in that particular block or area, you know the volume of calls would be quite light and not require additional improvements,” Greaser explained. “But if, for example, you had a square-mile radius with a significant volume of calls, that would indicate to you that that’s a better location to be.”

According to Greaser, an area may experience more fires than another if there’s new construction as the population grows or if abandoned buildings in the area are left to fall into disrepair.

“The county is growing. It’s growing in pockets throughout the county,” Greaser said. “You’re able to see that in terms of neighborhoods that are springing up where there once was a field. You’re seeing even duplexes and apartments or multifamily dwellings that are becoming more prevalent throughout the county but you’re also seeing older homes or older, less maintained structures, that are attributing to quite a few calls, for us in terms of fires.”

ESD2 also recently broke ground on a new station in the Jamestown area of northeastern Smith County. Once completed, it will be ESD2’s twelfth fire station in the county.