MOUNTAIN CITY, TX — There are some new neighbors who just moved into a Hays County neighborhood, but it's not your typical family.
That's because the house they just moved into is now home to the Kyle Fire Department's newest fire station.
Kyle Fire Chief Kyle Taylor said that last year the fire department was met with a bit of a dilemma: they needed more staffing space but the budget could not allow for both.
So, they had to think a little outside of the box.
Instead, the department bought a home on Mountain City drive -- a move approved by the Mountain City Council. Chief Taylor explained that typically new fire stations cost three to four million dollars to build. Instead, they took a different approach by taking care of it themselves at a fraction of the estimated cost, spending $370,000 to make it happen.
"They [firefighters] did a lot of the work, and that was important. You know firefighters, on their days off, they do other jobs. A lot of them do construction and that kind of stuff, so they got to make little overtime to rebuild the house," said Taylor. "So we bought a house and built a big garage in the back and converted the house, and it's been working very well so far."
It's a lot homier than probably most fire stations. It's complete with three bedrooms, a custom-made kitchen, living room, workout space, back patio and of course, a large garage to house the fire engines. Just down the road from Hays High School, the fire station was built at the perfect place and time.
"This was one of our longest response times to get here from our other two stations. So it's cut down response time a lot to this area and Hays high school and middle school and Plum Creek because this station serves Plum Creek, which is the biggest neighborhood in Kyle."
Taylor explained that one of the biggest reasons behind the need for the new station was simply because of booming growth Kyle and the surrounding area has seen in recent years.
"Growth is one thing that is just crazy, and it's necessitating us expanding. I started in Kyle in 2013, and our call volume has doubled since then."
With the exception of the bright red doors on the garage, the house fits into the neighborhood perfectly. The firefighters have received a warm welcome from their neighbors since moving in. Taylor explained that when firefighters are called out to a scene, they won't begin sounding off their sirens until their out of the neighborhood so as not to disrupt their neighbors every time they're heading out.
Looking ahead to Oct. 2 on National Night Out, the Kyle Fire Department is inviting the community to an open house to tour the station themselves and also have a chance to meet with their local first responders.