Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of blaring smoke alarms. Your home, the place you feel safest, rapidly filling with smoke.
You grab your phone, call 911 and simply hope that help arrives in time. In times such as these, every single second matters, not just for your home, but for the safety of your family.

This is why Coppell decided to build its fifth fire station. This decision is not just about adding another building to the city map; it is about saving lives. It is about making sure that when emergencies occur, whether it be a house fire, a heart attack or even a serious car accident, first responders can provide help faster.
It is important for us to take a moment to appreciate what this new project means for us, as a community and as a whole. The new fire station, located near Austin Elementary School, is not just a random addition to Coppell but is a critical improvement to our emergency response system. Even one extra minute could dictate the difference between a house engulfed in flames or a small kitchen fire. It could mean the difference between life and death.
Coppell is not the small town it used to be. It is a thriving community and, as it expands, we need to ensure our services do too. Our fire department is already very vast and responding to more calls than ever before. However, our town has expanded in recent years and we can no longer rely on the same level of emergency service from a decade ago.

However, the reality is this kind of investment does come with a cost. Some residents have been concerned about the slight increase in taxes. While I do get that no one enjoys paying more, we do have to ask ourselves, “What price do we put on our own safety?”
We cannot have it both ways. If we are expecting high-quality services, we must be also willing to contribute and cooperate. Coppell has always excelled in most, if not all, aspects of the community. We would not hesitate to invest in better schooling, better recreational facilities or even better roads, so why question this?
We often speak about community in Coppell and how this place is one where neighbors look out for each other–a city that prioritizes the safety of its residents and quality of life. If we want that to hold, then supporting this fire station should be a no-brainer for us.

The idea of avoiding tax increases may sound very appealing in the short term, but there can be severe long-term consequences if we don’t realize the importance of investing now. Do we really want to wait until a tragedy unfolds? Until a family suffers an extremely devastating loss because of slow response times? I refuse to believe that this is the way things work in Coppell.
Follow Prisha (@hoodaprisha1209) and @CHSCampusNews on X.