A new fire station, which is currently under construction, will be complete in the fall.
The building will be located in the 4500 block of Bagby Avenue near Heart of Texas Goodwill Industries. According to Waco Fire Chief Bobby Tatum, a 2015 study recommended Fire Station 5 to be relocated to Central Texas Marketplace to improve emergency response coverage.
He added at the time, the previous facility, built in 1958, didn't have the height required to fit modern fire trucks. In addition, he said it had extensive repairs due to its age and construction.
Therefore, Tatum said the staff recommended to relocate the facility instead of paying to rebuild the facility at the same location and buy a new fire truck.
"There were overlaps in the stations that we had so we decided to relocate this station to give us the ability to provide better coverage to the city and this area," Tatum said.