SILSBEE, Texas — A place thousands of students once came to learn in Silsbee is now just an empty field. But for the city's volunteer firefighters, this spot offers plenty of promise.
They said it's the perfect place for their new firehouse, but it's not just about location. It's about need.
The Silsbee Fire Department is growing. More than 30 volunteers make up a staff, and soon they'll have a brand-new place to call home.
Since 2003, Silsbee Fire and Rescue has occupied this building at the corner of Payne Road and North 11th Street.
“This building is still a nice building and everything but we're growing," Chief Robin Jones said.
Jones has watched his crew of more than 30 volunteers take on a bigger workload in the last two years. They've gone from making 432 runs in 2020 to 537 so far this year.
"We have actually outgrown this,” Jones said. “When we looked at starting into this new station, we saw that it's a station that can grow with us for several years to come."
On Tuesday Silsbee ISD's board of trustees sold the property where the old Kirby Elementary School once stood to Hardin County Emergency Services District Six.
"I think that it just shows the community support that we have, they could have went a lot of different directions with that property and for them to come our direction with it we are truly thankful for that," said Matt Dulaney, President of Hardin County Emergency Service District 6.
The 13.5-acre piece of land sold for its appraised value of $869,000.
The plan is to make the new building more wind resistant.
That'll help in hurricanes, and it'll have space to house equipment and volunteers during emergency situations.
"I will now have the advantage of keeping all my guys here, and keeping all the equipment inside where it's safe," Jones said.
And although the new location is a little more than a stone's throw from the old one it will improve access to major roads which could make all the difference.
"And it’s going to sound like not much of nothing, but if I can drop it down by 45 seconds, it's going to mean the difference between life and death," Jones said.
Blueprints for the new project are already in the works, and the hope is to have the new firehouse up and running by the end of next year at the latest.