CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — If you or a loved one has ever faced an emergency then you know the time it takes for first responders to get to you could make all the difference in your recovery.
Fire Station #1, which currently services North Beach, will no longer be the fastest fire station to service that area once the new Harbor Bridge opens.
We're still about a year and a half away from the New Harbor Bridge opening to traffic. However, the Corpus Christi Fire Department is working on solutions to make sure crews can get to an emergency on North Beach in a timely manor, including looking at two different station to take over that responsibility.
North Beach resident Bob Catalano said having a fire station just over the bridge can make all the difference, especially when his mother needed quick medical attention just last year.
"Within six minutes the ambulances were here. She was in bad shape and they got here pretty quickly," he said.
Fire Station #1 on Belden St. across from the old courthouse is the primary responder for North Beach. An onramp to the current Harbor Bridge is conveniently located right next to the fire house.
On average, CCFD responds to 360 emergency calls, both in 2022 and about the same amount this year. From the time crews are dispatched, to the time they arrive on scene is less than 10 minutes.
But that time could increase, once traffic is switched to the new Harbor Bridge in 2025.
"We're really not sure how that is going to work out, can't possibly be as good as it is right now," Catalano said.
The reason, instead of cutting through downtown, the new and longer Harbor Bridge will connect with the Crosstown Expressway. That means CCFD Fire Station #1 will no longer have direct access.
CCFD Fire Chief Brandon Wade said the department is in the process of planning which other fire station will take over that coverage area.
"We already started analyzing who is going to start making the responses over to the north beach side, it looks like station five and station three are now going to be the primary responders, just because of the way on ramps are going to be for the new Harbor Bridge," he said.
CCFD Fire Station #5 is located on Leopard Street near Miller High School, while Station #3, which is one of the busiest in the city, is located here off of Morgan Avenue.
"That will increase response times a little bit, its hard to measure it though we don't actually have the road connectivity yet to run some of the data and to see what an increase of response time could be," he said.
Wade said both stations are in a good position to head to North Beach even though they will be a little further away.
"Once we actually have all the connectors and the bridge is open when we find out who will be the primary responder," he said.
Ron Graban with the North Beach Community Association said they have their own possible solution. They're asking for a police and fire substation on North Beach.
"'It's not an emergency until it's an emergency. Is it needed? absolutely, if there is a problem on the bridge it reduces the response time and ability to save lives," he said.
And residents believe they already have the perfect site in might, next to the ball field.
"Hopefully the building behind us is scheduled for demolition, the ultimate goal is to have the station right here because it's centrally located great for all the residents," he said.
3NEWS asked Wade if a fire station on North Beach is a feasible option.
"Right now with the call volume we are not seeing a big need that we have to put a fire station right there. We always like low response times for anything, however you can't put a fire station on every corner of the city to achieve that low response time," he said.
Wade said they will continue to monitor that need and it's something that could change with future development of homes or businesses on North Beach. Something he said they'll keep an eye on.
As we get into the winter season, the chief said that if a freeze happens, the department's plans would be to put a fire crew on North Beach just in case of any bridge closures.
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