Changing placement of fire stations may not be practical

A proposal to close one fire station in east Lawton would actually affect four stations, Lawton Fire Chief Jared Williams said.

Williams was outlining the results of an analysis for members of the City Council’s Budget and Efficiency Committee, a group tasked with overseeing development of the annual city budget, as well as efficiencies in governmental operations. Williams had been asked to analyze a plan to realign fire stations, to include an idea to close two stations in east Lawton and build a new station that, in theory, would contain both service areas.

The discussions center around Station 3 (located at 901 NE Rogers Lane) and Station 6 (located at 312 SE 45th).

Bluntly stated, Station 3 is not in a good location, Williams said, explaining fire stations are intended to cover a 3-mile radius and few people are in that area for Station 3, which was built in 1982 in respond to residential pressure after the death of a child. East Lawton’s other fire station is Station 6, built in 1970 and the city’s second-oldest station still responding to fire calls. There isn’t much beyond that station’s eastern boundary, Williams said, adding that is why the proposal he analyzed was closing Stations 3 and 6, then building a new station that combines their service areas.

The problem: There is a ripple effect beyond those two stations.

Most notably, closing Station 3 at its existing location increases the response burden on Station 4 at 2409 Cache Road, a 69-year-old station that already is the city’s busiest (Engine 4 responded to 4,000 calls in 2024, with the next closest being Engine 1, at 2,878 calls). Williams said without Station 3 at its location, Station 4 would have to assume those calls.

“You have to look at the effect on other stations,” he said, of what he called the ripple effect on Station 4, increasing the work load for firefighters who already are busy (the station averages one call every one and one-half to two hours).

It also would cause what he called “voids” in coverage in the area around Mission Village area, meaning more people would be outside the preferred response time area of 1.5 miles. While no decisions have been made, one proposal would locate a new station at East Gore Boulevard and Flower Mound Road.

Shifting Station 4’s load east would solve the problem in east Lawton, but cause a larger void in the area around Atwoods in northwest Lawton, where coverage voids already exist. That, in turn, would mean shifting some of the load to Station 5 at 1 NW 53rd, whose engine was the third-busiest in 2024, at 2,706.

Williams said he agrees Station 4 should be replaced, because it is the city’s oldest and most active station. And, balancing that with the shut down of Station 3 would mean moving Station 4 further east. Then, ideally, Station 5 (built in 2005) would be moved further north since its service area would move north.

All that comes at a cost. Williams said a rough estimate is $30 million to $40 million to build three new stations similar to Station 8 on Southwest Bishop Road. Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, who represents east Lawton, pointed out the City of Lawton’s limited funding, and asked whether Station 4 needed to be rebuilt to balance Stations 3 and 6 or because it is an aging facility.

“We need to replace it because of age and efficiency,” Williams said, of what he said will soon be a 70-year-old station. “It’s time to replace that station.”

Williams said while he knows the benefits of the plan, he is not recommending the council do it. He agreed with Gill’s argument that city officials need to “do a study with hard answers,” saying the city should engage a fire department engineer to make that evaluation, and the evaluation should include addressing coverage voids across Lawton’s north border.

Williams addressed other questions about adjustments in fire operations, including the question about whether firefighters should be responding to the medical calls that account for 60 percent of the department’s runs. While noting the department may reconsider minor medical calls, Williams said his firefighters make a difference.

“If we don’t make medical calls, people will die,” he said of firefighter ability to do CPR at the scene, saving lives.