Oklahoma City Fire Department Breaks Ground On New Fire Station In SW OKC

Oklahoma City residents who live on the edge of city limits on the far southwest side will soon get their own fire station.

The plot of land on Southwest 59th near Cimarron Road will house Oklahoma City's 38th fire station.

The Oklahoma City Fire Department said it's been relying on surrounding cities to help serve communities in that area.

“We’re seeing an influx of housing there, we anticipate business growth and as a fire department we have an obligation to expand as the city grows,” said Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson.

Right now, firefighters from neighboring cities like Mustang are helping Oklahoma City in the area.

“We actually have automatic aid agreements with partnering cities Mustang and Yukon who actually respond automatically with us when we have certain calls,” said Fulkerson.

The new station will make it easier for OKCFD to respond to calls in a timely manner. Fulkerson said they have a goal of getting to 70% of their calls within seven minutes of being dispatched.

“This is going to make a real difference for the people out there and expect that emergency service delivery,” he said.

Station 38 will have state of the art equipment and staff 21 firefighters.

“It will be a three-bay fire station. It will house a fire engine, a brush pumper initially and we will probably add a tanker out there to assist with the water supply in an area like that that doesn’t have a lot of hydrants,” said Fulkerson.

In addition to safety, he said homeowners can anticipate another perk of living near a fire station.

“It will also help with insurance rates, people that have a fire station closer to them it generally will help with their insurance rate as well,” said Fulkerson.

The $3.9 million project is set to be completed next April.