CYPRESS, Texas — The Cypress area has seen an explosive growth in population and the Cy-Fair Fire Department is working to keep up with the boom. A new study recommended eight new fire stations over the next few years to handle all the people moving northwest.
"It used to be a lot of farms and a lot of rice fields," Cy-Fair FD Assistant Chief Mike Clements said.
Now, it's booming neighborhoods, businesses and ongoing construction that's not slowing down anytime soon.
"Lightning would come start a grass fire, now where that grass was there are houses," Clements said. "We've got growth everywhere you look."
Right now, Cy-Fair FD is responsible for a population of 600,000 people. That increases each week.
"It's caused multiple calls happening per hour and multiple incidents with multiple units making response at the same time," Clements said.
It's a challenge Cy-Fair FD is facing head-on.
"Obviously, with growth, slower traffic, increased response times, the solution for that generally is more stations and more firefighters," Clements said.
A study by Citygate Associates, a consulting firm that works with local fire departments, recommended eight new fire stations to be built in the next eight years. That includes repositioning existing stations to better respond to where the growth is happening.
"We're going to use the mapping program and software provided to make sure we find the right land for the best places to give us the best and most effective response," Clements. said.
The report also found a need for extra ambulance capacity, something Cy-Fair FD said they are already working to address with extra units at peak times.
"We've got the industry's best to help us come up with this plan, and we're going to be there in their time of need," Clements said.
New stations mean new firefighters -- at least 12 to 18 firefighters per station, according to Clements. He said when the department posts jobs, those positions are highly sought after and fill quickly.