Due to quicker response times to fires and other emergencies, many Aldine area homeowners could see a drop in their insurance premiums.
The change is due to the work of the Aldine Fire Department, which runs fire and rescue teams in Emergency Services District 24. The district covers 19 square miles and serves more than 38,000 people in the Aldine area.
The department also works cooperatively with the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department, providing emergency medical services in the East Aldine Management District.
The Aldine Fire Department, which started as a one-station, all-volunteer department in 1968, has grown to four fire stations with a total staff of 90 firefighters or EMTs. The addition of a fourth station cut two to three minutes off the response time to fires and medical emergencies.
Not only does that save lives, it also lowers the costs of homeowners’ insurance, District Fire Chief Rick Reeg said.
Construction of the department’s fourth station, Station 41, located at Farrell and Aldine Westfield Road, was completed three years ago. Because the station is located across Union Pacific railroad tracks from the other stations, it helped cut response times for all four, Reeg said.
The department operated out of a home until the first Aldine fire station was built on Aldine Bender in 1971. The station was expanded and renovated in 1985.
Reeg said the majority of the departments’ calls are for EMS services. The Aldine department works closely with Harris County EMS.
“We do get an occasional fire, but it’s occasional. We do help our neighbors, but there’s not a lot of fires,” he said.
Most of the ambulance calls stem from motor vehicle crashes, and their leading are drivers’ heavy consumption of alcohol, speeding and/or cell phone distractions.
“Right now, I would say that texting and driving, and alcohol are probably about equal,” Reeg said.
And even though newer cars are frequently equipped to “lock” cell phones, other on-board automotive technology could add to danger, Reeg said.
“Is it going to solve the problem, or is it going to create another problem?” Reeg said.
The Aldine Fire Department is what Reeg calls a “combination department” with trained volunteer firefighters who work with the paid firefighters. The paid firefighters work 48 hours on and 96 hours off, like at many other area fire departments.
With that scheduling structure, the Aldine department can and does employ firefighters on a part-time basis from the Houston Fire Department, as well as staff from departments in Texas City, Little York, Klein, Cy-Fair, Magnolia and Needham.
The department is overseen by an elected five-member board: President Jerry Loyd, Vice President Eva Garcia, Treasurer Lee Spillman, Secretary Loretta Robinson and Assistant Secretary Maria Gomez.
Fire Chief Dave Parker has put an emphasis on community education and public safety education. Franchesca Santiago, a former volunteer, works full-time as community relations liaison and coordinates events such as the installation of child safety seats in residents’ vehicles.
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— by Anne Marie Kilday
