Present day Coppell is home to five fire stations across the city.
Historically, 1956 marked the first firetruck, a 1938 Chevrolet with a tank holding just 600 gallons of water, purchased by former Fire Chief Richard Lee. In 1958, two years after the initial purchase of the first truck, Coppell Fire Station 1, located on the east side of South Coppell Road, was built by J.T Maynard.
In later years, Coppell Fire Station 3 was built in 1997, located on Sandy Lake Road. In early years of the station’s establishment, Station 3 was dubbed the ‘Heavy House’ due to the large number of personnel before the station crew split off into Station 5, established in 2025.
“They call this station the ‘Heavy House’ due to it being a double company station, which at the time was the only one in Coppell, meaning it had an engine company and a ladder company, as well as a medic. So there were ten people here at a time,” Station 3 firefighter/paramedic Tyler Hodges said.
After almost three decades since Coppell Station 3’s initial establishment, Coppell was met with several weather-related incidents throughout the past few years. Severe thunderstorms as well as winter weather became yearly occurrences.
In an effort to protect personnel against hazardous weather conditions such as high impact heavy winds, a storm shelter will be included in this year’s Station 3 renovations to accommodate all personnel at the station.
Originally, Station 3 was designed as a wood-frame construction which can be compared to a typical residential style home, which after several years of use is not holding up as well as it used to. This ultimately led to the shutdown and renovation of the station, starting on May 4. Original personnel will be reassigned to different stations during construction.
Renovations to the station include adding airlocks between the bay, where the ambulance and engines are docked, and the living quarters as an effort to keep carcinogens deriving from diesel and engine exhaust away from the sleeping quarters.
The new living quarters will be constructed with metal wall studs, energy efficient air conditioning and windows.
In addition to adding a better structured bay, architects have plans to add in a decontamination room to the station to allow personnel to to remove any hazardous chemicals and fluids that may have come in contact with their hair and clothes while working.
To preserve the original Town Center look, architects and elected officials have been working diligently to ensure that most renovations towards the station will be internal as the plan includes that the apparatus bays as well as the living room will remain the same.
Renovations are underway, and the station is anticipated to remain closed until spring 2027.
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