Monday, May 6, 2024
The Tolar Volunteer Fire Department is working on building a second fire station serving as Station 91.
The plan for another station has been underway for several years now and is finally in the works. The new station is located about six miles south of the Tolar Fire station at 7712 Paluxy Highway. It is built where an old school named Prairie Creek used to be, so it will be named Prairie Creek Station.
According to Fire Chief and Tolar Mayor Matt Russell, the department put up a sign two years ago noting that the department was wanting to create another station and was looking for donations and land for sale.
Russel added that a gentleman who wished to remain anonymous is going to move down to Tolar and wants to build a house and be close to a fire station. The gentleman donated $250,000 to go toward building a second station. This donation occurred at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic when costs of everything were much lower.
After this donation, the station is still short of funds for a septic system and a well, but Russel noted that the station will still run even without those needs.
“It will decrease response times to that area significantly,” Russel said. “Once everything is in service, we’re going to try to re-score our fire insurance ratings, which will mean a reduction in insurance cost to homeowners and a significant reduction to those that live within five miles of the station.”
Several volunteers from the Tolar station live around the Prairie Creek station and will begin working for that station once finished. Russel added that several people have reached out and expressed interest in volunteering for the new station.
“Hopefully, within the next 45 to 60 days, we’re hoping to be running apparatus out of it. We already have all the equipment. We have a 1000-gallon pumper that’s going to go down there. We’re going to have at least one brush truck there at all times, sometimes two. We also have an EMS vehicle that we’ll be running out of there,” Russel said.
The current Tolar VFD station has around 35 volunteers with seven bays, and the new station will have three. Russel noted that the department did build with expansion in mind that way, if needed in the future, it would be possible to add on.
The station is always open to donations as well as volunteers. Donations can be made to the department’s Cash App under the tag $tolarfire or by mail at the address P.O. Box 234, Tolar, TX 76476.
For those interested in becoming a volunteer, applications are available at any time at the Tolar Station and can be turned in at the station’s business meetings that take place every second Tuesday of the month at the Tolar station. No requirements are necessary to become part of the department.
The station will be holding “OCTOLARFEST” which is a fundraiser that will benefit the Tolar VFD. The event will feature live music, food trucks, vendor shopping, bounce houses, a silent auction, cornhole, and more.
The event will take place on Oct. 21 at the feed lot located at 8308 W. HWY 377 in Tolar.
