Fire Station 307 unveiled to public; 3rd to open in a year

Surprise's newest fire station, the third to open in a year, was unveiled to the public this week.

Fire Station 307 was strategically placed at 161st Avenue and Cactus Road in southern Surprise, near the future site of Prasada, said Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Pool. The fire station has been online since late September.

Prasada is envisioned as a high-end regional shopping mall eventually surrounded by other commercial, office and residential development.

"As history dictates, when you put in a regional mall, the calls for service will go up," Pool said.

The station's positioning was also designed to decrease response times. In the past, some emergency calls in the area were clocking in at 12 minutes "just because of the distance."

Before the new station opened, the area was served mainly by Station 303, near Cotton Lane and Greenway Road, and El Mirage's fire station.

The Fire Department already has plotted 11 more fire-station locations to keep up with growth, according to its 20-year strategic plan presented in November. The anticipated construction costs will total $66 million to $80 million.

Buying equipment for the stations are forecast to cost an additional $9 million, and annual operating costs would be $22.6 million.

Surprise Fire Station 307