West I-10 gets new trucks to serve community

The West I-10 Fire Department is responding to an increasing nubmer of fire and medical calls using new fire trucks and engines that are helping the department better serve the community.
The department recently purchased three new trucks to replace aging equipment that will now serve as reserve apparatus when needed, said Lt. Mike Grajeda, Public Information Officer for West I-10.
"These trucks are the future of our department and will serve our community well," Grajeda said. "The trucks we did have were old but still in decent shape and we've put them into a reserve-type capacity. It's good now to have front line reserve trucks that are capable of taking care of all of our needs."
Costing a total of about $1.5 million, the new trucks have been equipped with state-of-the art supplies and seat six firefighters. Grajeda said the trucks provide more storage than other pumpers and will allow West I-10 firefighters to store specialty items such as rescue ropes and tools needed for water rescues.
New equipment and vehicles are necessary for the department, which has seen an increase in calls in the past few months. Data shows that West I-10 has responded to approximately 1,500 fire and emergency medical (EMS) calls from January through the end of March. Last year, the department handled 2,200 calls for the entire year.
"A lot of those calls are EMS calls," Grajeda said. "We're averaging 12 calls per day."
In January, West I-10 became the sole provider of emergency medical services and established its own EMS provider. The EMS division of the department has been running smoothly since the transition, Grajeda said.
The three new fire trucks will be housed at three different West I-10 fire stations. One truck will be located at Station 1 at 22125 Kingsland Blvd., another is at Station 4 at 22855 Franz Road and the third truck is at Station 5, 20011 Westfield, which previously housed the department's oldest truck.
In addition to new safety features on the truck, the maintenance on the apparatus is more efficient and easier to access than other trucks, Grajeda said, which should reduce the service time when maintenance is needed.
West I-10 has been serving the Katy area for the last 30 years and has future plans for the department that include an inaugural barbecue cook-off this June with other fire departments, increased recruiting and improved fire stations. You can read more about the department's recent changes and future plans here in my previous blog.