By Breven Honda
Excitement is building for the Mesquite Fire and Rescue Department.
On June 3, the local fire department will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for the grand opening of Fire Station #2. Located at 1105 Horizon Blvd., the department is eager to begin operations out of its third station in the city.
“We’re excited for our firefighters and excited for our community,” Mesquite Fire and Rescue Chief Jayson Andrus said. “These types of projects take years of planning and budgeting, and we’re excited for everyone involved. We appreciate the support from the elected officials who helped make this happen.
“Brandon Bentley has led the project from the city’s perspective and has done a wonderful job. So many departments have helped make this come to fruition, and we appreciate the coordinated effort from all sides of the city.”
Over the last year, $7.8 million has been committed to the project since the groundbreaking ceremony on June 11, 2025.
Six days after the ribbon cutting — and two days before the one-year anniversary of the groundbreaking ceremony — the new fire station will become fully operational on June 9.
Throughout the yearlong construction process, the fire department has been planning how to integrate a third station alongside Fire Station #1 on Mesquite Boulevard and Fire Station #3 on John Deere Drive.
With the west side and central portions of town already covered, the new station will provide critical support for the city’s growing north side.
“Throughout the process, it’s validated the need for this station on the north end of the city,” Andrus said. “Approximately 90% of residential growth is occurring north of I-15, and that is where the growth is happening. It’s important that we have support from city officials to build that infrastructure for emergencies in our community.”
However, adding a third fire station will require operational adjustments once full service begins.
“It’s going to change our operational mode from responding with two stations to responding with three,” the fire chief said. “I think communication between the stations is pivotal to ensure we have proper backup. If one station can’t respond because crews are already on other calls, the internal communication within our organization and among our members is going to be a key part of our success.”
The addition of the new station is also expected to lower response times to emergency calls, including incidents such as the brush and ditch fires that impacted Mesquite on May 20 and 21.
Andrus said he can travel from Fire Station #1 to Fire Station #2 in eight minutes and 21 seconds.
That time difference can play a pivotal role not only in fire emergencies, but also in medical emergencies such as strokes, heart attacks and cardiac arrests. Every second counts, and a new station could make a life-saving difference.
“Time is tissue, specifically on medical events, so it’s lives saved,” Andrus said. “That’s just on the medical side. When it comes to fires, a fire almost doubles in size every minute, so those seconds matter.
“To be able to get on scene and keep a room-and-contents fire contained to the room of origin, instead of letting it breach the attic and spread throughout the home, it only takes minutes before the entire home is lost. That’s what we’re here for — to save property and save lives.”
