Irving opens Fire Station 8 as call volume climbs in Las Colinas

Nick Lawton, host of City Source, reported that the city of Irving dedicated its largest-ever fire station, Fire Station 8, in Las Colinas on the weekend following the city’s Sparks and Stripes celebration.

The station, located on Riverside Drive at the former DART station site, is intended to reduce response times in a district where Irving firefighters say call volume has risen roughly 50% in recent years. "Bio organs start shutting down after 5 minutes without oxygen," a meeting participant said during the dedication, highlighting the time-sensitive nature of many emergency calls.

City reporting said the facility is fully equipped for a range of responses, including hazmat incidents, high-rise rescue, fire-rescue medical calls, an ambulance for medical response, a fire boat for incidents on the lake and an off-road ambulance for trail rescues. Council member Dennis Webb, who served as a firefighter for 30 years and was introduced during the event, said the station’s comforts and equipment matter to crews: "It's very important. Most firemen live probably about a 3rd of their life at a fire station…So the more equipment, the better the station, the more comfortable it is," Webb said.

The city framed the new station as part of a multi‑site investment: the report identified Station 8 as the fourth new or renovated station in Irving in a recent period. Organizers combined the dedication with public festivities; attendees helped push the engine into the bay and city leaders offered ceremonial remarks and a blessing for the new crew.

The program did not provide construction costs or a staffed-apportionment timeline. The city said residents should expect improved coverage in the Riverside/Las Colinas area and that Fire Station 8 will dispatch units for the expanded range of incident types described at the dedication.