A rat infestation has forced New Braunfels firefighters and paramedics to temporarily move out of Station #1 downtown. Now with no tones or emergency alerts and no working trucks, the station is extremely quiet.
Chief Kenneth Jacks said the move is "to keep our guys safe. The safety and health of our personnel is our number one focus."
All of the equipment and personnel were moved out on Monday as a precaution.
"They're good sized, body of them like that," Jacks said, spacing his fingers a few inches apart. "They look like small puppies, some of them."
The move comes after one firefighter recently got sick, even though the illness can't be blamed on the pests.
"They're not too scared of people. Most rats come out when there's not anyone around, or when it's dark. These make themselves at home," Jacks explained.
"If you've been around fire stations very long, it's not an uncommon thing to have. Not to see mice or something like that but as big of a problem around here - it's kind of escalated."
The crews are now being dispatched from Station #4 and Station #6 on the eastern and western sides of town. That could mean a slightly longer response times in the downtown area.
"It'll actually decrease response times to the periphery of the district. They will get more apparatus there," Jacks said. "It'll affect some in the heart of it, just going to take longer to get there."
An exterminator came by Wednesday afternoon and discovered the problem is not as bad as they thought. They'll set some traps outside and after a thorough disinfection, it will be running and sounding like a real station again soon.