Mustang Fire Department opens second fire station
Citizens had the chance to explore the new Mustang Fire Station ahead of its opening. (Photo by Jacob Sturm)
By Jacob Sturm
news@mustangpaper.com
A beneficial addition to the Mustang community is off and running, and safety and reassurance
for those on the East side of town stand to benefit.
Mustang’s second fire station officially opened on Wednesday, with Mustang fire chief Craig
Carruth and Mayor Brian Grider speaking to the large gathering of community members
present to check out the building located at the corner of Ross Terrace and State Highway 152.
“I would say the collaborative effort between the building committee, IT, the architect and the
General Contractor (went well during the process),” Carruth said. “We really, I think, all worked
very hard and I believe what you see now is a byproduct of that. So, I’m very happy with the
way things turned out, (and am) very proud of this facility. I truly believe that lives will be saved
from the responders coming out of this station.”
So, what does the second fire station offer the Mustang community? Carruth said the main thing is the response time for the eastern Mustang residents.
“It’s quicker and broader coverage,” Carruth said. “That’s the main thing that stands out. When
you look at where the division, the dividing line response districts will be that were not there
before, (and) knowing where station 1 sits and (the impact of the station on) anybody living on
this side of the city (by station 2), the time that it would take for responders to get here versus
responders already being here and being able to respond, you’re cutting minutes off the time…
Having care delivered within minutes literally saves lives. So, it’s going to be reassurance
knowing that you do have quality responders being able to meet the need, whatever that may
be, faster.”
Carruth also mentioned some of the technology the new station will provide the fire
department. He mentioned the first fire station, where the emergency operations center was
built in 1991, and said that EOC was built to serve the needs of that time.
Fire station 2 will also have an emergency operations center. Carruth indicated the station was
proactive in how the station will meet the needs of the department in the future, too.
“A lot has changed from 1991 to 2023,” Carruth said. “The nature of the incident’s that we have
to respond to has changed. The expectations have changed, technology obviously changes
every day. What we were able to do, and I believe we did that, is we tried to forecast down the
road. We tried to utilize the latest technologies we could in the most creative ways to be able
to hopefully allow this facility to really grow as the future grows.”
The fire station has the capability to house six firefighters, but Carruth said the current situation
has two firefighters working from the station with a third planned once things get situated.
Citizens also voted in favor of a tax in 2016 that directly made the second fire station a reality.
That community support, along with the support from the city leadership, directly led to the
creation and impact of the new station for Mustang’s future.
“The city leadership is without question top notch,” Carruth said. “(They’re) very supportive.
They very much allow you to do your job. They recognize you as the expert in the industry, and
they allow you to use that knowledge to complete whatever task or project that you’re on.
That’s huge. You can tell by the outpouring of Chamber folks, other city leaders, other city staff,
we’re pretty tight and we’re pretty lucky as a community to have the overall support that we
do. I am very proud of that.”
Want to check out the fire station? Fill out the tour request form on the City of Mustang
website to set up a time to visit.
