The Denton Fire Department’s calls for service continue to climb but the department already has preliminary plans to keep pace with seven future fire stations.
There are currently nine fire stations in Denton, and construction on a 10th is set to start in spring 2027.
Fire Chief Kenneth Hedges has also scoped out prospective locations for Stations 11 through 16.
Why plan so many?
“We just don’t want to get behind,” Hedges said. “We’re constantly watching our data as far as calls and tracking that.”
Denton’s population is growing exponentially, and so too are calls for EMS and fire service.
In 2025, Denton FD received 24,436 calls for service. That is a 6.2% increase from the year prior.
By 2030, the department forecasts it will receive 35,917 calls in a year — a 47% increase in calls compared to 2025.
Hedges compared Denton to the Irving Fire Department.
“We were only 1,500 calls less than the city of Irving last calendar year, and Irving has four more fire stations and 200 more firefighters than we do,” Hedges said. “What does that equate to? That equates to [Denton’s fire] system is very, very busy.”
Despite how busy it is, the Denton Fire Department also seeks to provide a gold-standard level of fire service.
In 2025, the department achieved accreditation for ambulance services and retained its accreditation for fire services. Denton is one of 20 fire departments in the U.S. and Canada to hold both accreditations.
Also last year, the department received the highest rating from the Insurance Services Office, placing it in the top 1% of fire agencies nationwide.
One crucial standard the Fire Department follows is the four-minute response time: Firefighters should be able to respond to calls for service in four minutes or less, 90% of the time.
The buildout of new developments in Denton can start to strain the existing fire stations. So, the department is in frequent talks with developers to get new fire stations up and running as houses are built.
Hedges said the department’s guideline is that by the time 1,100 rooftops go up in an area, there should be a fire station within 1.5 miles of there.
Thousands of new homes are coming to Denton in the next 5, 10, 20 or more years. So, Hedges has tentative plans for fire stations that far out.
The locations of some are subject to change. The assigned numbers could change, too, depending on the pace of development.
Station 10
Station 10 will be located north of Robson Ranch Road, where Hillwood is developing Landmark, a 3,200-acre master-planned community.
Construction on Station 10 will likely start in spring 2027 and the station will open no later than September 2028.
In February, city staff estimated the cost of the Fire Station 10 project is roughly $12.3 million.
Hillwood donated the 3 acres of land and agreed to reimburse the city for $5 million for public safety improvements near the development. Half of that will go toward the Fire Department.
Station 11
Station 11 is roughly slated for north of Green Valley Circle and Shepard Road in north central Denton.
This area is likely the department’s next priority because of the upcoming construction on the eastern portion of the Craver Ranch development.
The entire development spans 2,500 acres between FM2164 and FM2153.
Craver Ranch is slated to bring a total of 9,000 homes to the area, along with retailers and park spaces.
The project will occur in phases over about 20 years. However, the earliest development will occur on the eastern side near FM2153.
The Texas Department of Transportation is also proposing the development of the Denton County Outer Loop, which would pass either through or just south of Craver Ranch.
The Outer Loop is intended to address population and travel demand growth from east to west in north Denton County.
An exact alignment has not been announced. The placement of the Outer Loop could impact where Station 11 is positioned and its response times to surrounding areas.
Also, Station 11 will likely house a rescue boat for calls to Ray Roberts Lake. Station 5 currently houses a rescue boat, but response times to the lake are about 25 minutes.
It’s likely that water search and rescue services to the lake will still primarily fall to the Lewisville Fire Department’s well-established dive team, Hedges said.
Station 12
Station 12 is currently proposed to sit at North Interstate 35 and Ganzer Road. This station is planned for operation in 15-20 years.
Denton’s city limits extend up the interstate about a mile north of Rector Road. The current closest station to Denton’s northernmost I-35 limit is Station 5, over 7 miles away.
Station 5 is already the busiest in the city because of development on University Drive near I-35.
With more development, more traffic and, therefore, more vehicle accidents, the department wants to have a stronger presence on the northern I-35 corridor.
Station 13
The department intends to build Station 13 off FM2449 between H Lively Road and John Paine Road.
Station 7 can currently serve about half of FM2449 west of Interstate 35W in under four minutes.
However, it won’t be able to effectively serve the upcoming Cole Ranch, a 3,100-acre master-planned community located south of FM2449.
Cole Ranch is set to add another 4,365 single-family homes to Denton.
Hedges said Friday he did not know the current status of development. Johnson Development Corp. states it expects to open for home sales in 2027.
Station 14
Station 14 will sit north of West University Drive at Thomas J. Egan Road.
The city of Denton had an agreement with developers of the Legends Ranch Municipal Utility District to donate 2.5 acres of land to fire services.
“That one’s just kind of a land bank that we put in our back pocket for future land acquisition,” Hedges said. “It will probably be one of the last ones. I just don’t see the need because with Station 9, we’re able to cover all of [U.S.] 380 right now.”
Station 15
Due to the proposed layout of Craver Ranch, Hedges said, it wouldn’t be possible to put one station in the center and keep response times under four minutes to the far western and eastern edges of the development.
The Fire Department will eventually need another station in Craver Ranch west of Station 11.
Station 15 is roughly slated to be at the far north end of Indian Wells Road.
Station 16
Station 16 might eventually open somewhere around North Locust Street and Milam Road East, where the department expects current farmland to eventually be developed.
Hedges said the location of Station 16 is not as definitive as some of the other stations that will precede it.
“It’s really going to be based on whenever [TxDOT] finalizes that Outer Loop,” Hedges said. “But we really dropped this one off of North Locust somewhere here because I feel that should be able to address the entire area at full buildout — whenever that time period is.
It may be several decades before Station 16 is constructed.
Filler stations
There are a few areas within the developed city where no existing station can technically respond in four minutes or less.
Some examples include portions of Panhandle Street and nearby roads, and near the intersection of University Drive and North Carroll Boulevard.
The response time threshold is based on posted speed limit, Hedges said, and firefighters can drive above the speed limit in an emergency.
The map, Hedges said, does not account for that, so firefighters can likely get to some of these outlier areas in four minutes or less. Still, those gaps are a concern the chief hopes to eventually address.
“We may have to get a little bit more creative,” Hedges said. “Maybe not full-size stations, but maybe just small one-crew stations there.”
Costs
Each new station can be costly. Station 10 alone will cost over $12 million.
The department used floor plan designs from the reconstruction of Station 5 and Station 6 for the design of Station 10. This helped cut down design costs by about $750,000, Battalion Chief David Boots said.
Hedges said the department will likely continue to reuse floor plans for future fire stations.
A new fire truck can cost $1.5 million to $1.7 million and take four years from order to delivery, Boots said.
Not only are there the one-time costs of the station and apparatus, but also the recurring costs of manning the stations.
“Every engine is four people times three shifts,” Boots said. “Every ambulance is two people times three shifts. So, you’ve got to add 18 people per new fire station, which is a huge startup cost.
Hedges estimated the salaries of the firefighters at Station 10 will cost the city just under $2 million annually.
“Once it goes onto the payroll, it’s there for infinity,” Hedges said. “We’ve never reduced staffing at the Fire Department in my 30 years here.”
So, with all the costs of opening a new fire station, he said, budgeting for these fire stations now is key.
“Preparing for the future is just the most fiscally responsible thing to do,” Hedges said.
BROOKE COLOMBO can be reached at 940-566-6882 and bcolombo@dentonrc.com.
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