KILLEEN, Texas — Located at 9200 Trimmier Road, the new fire station the City of Killeen and the Killeen Fire Department broke ground on on May 8 is "imperative and important" for the citizens.
"Currently our average response time to this specific area is eight minutes," said Fire Chief James Kubinski. "Our standard and goal that we shoot for, the national standard, is six minutes. By adding this station, we will decrease the response time to below six minutes."
The project totals around $22 million and includes funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). City leaders bragged about the project not increasing any debt for the city at the groundbreaking ceremony.
The new building will include fire station #4, an emergency operations center and also a training facility. The facility is being built to accommodate population growth, improve emergency response times, modernize equipment and technology, ensure adequate coverage for underserved areas and prioritize community safety, according to a press release from the City of Killeen.
"This was the number one site that was identified to be able to partner with the Killeen Independent School District to purchase the property, it was surplus property that was identified for them, and just happened to be within a quarter of a mile of where our master plan identified we needed the next fire station," Kubinski said.
Kubinski also told 6 News that by adding another fire station within the growing city, citizens and business owners will be able to keep more money in their pockets because insurance rates will stay low, instead of possibly increasing.
"If we didn't have the fire station getting built in this location, the Insurance Services Office (ISO) would come in and reevaluate us and there is a high likelihood that our ISO Class 1 rating would be downgraded to ISO Class 2, which results in higher insurance costs for our citizens and our business owners," Kubinski said. "This was also imperative to keep insurance rates low for our citizens and businesses."
This will be the 9th fire station in Killeen and it will require 24 new personnel. Construction is expected to last 14 to 16 months, and the facility should be operational sometime in the third quarter of 2025.
Several dozen people attended the groundbreaking on May 8. Kubinski said the support he has felt through this project is an experience he wishes he had words for.
"Did not expect the overwhelming support," Kubinski said. "The City of Killeen is busy. We are a fire department that provides a service 24/7/365 and sometimes you forget there are other people watching. The fact that other people are watching and they come and support is humbling, overwhelming and very exciting."
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