TYLER, Texas — The Smith County Emergency Services District 2 board on Monday approved building a fire station in the northwest corner of Smith County.
During a special board meeting Monday, the board gave its approval with a 3-2 vote to add a fire station in the Jamestown area.
"It’s really the point of the fact that I pay property taxes to the Smith County ESD to protect me, and I feel like the other areas of the county are being protected," said Lisa Hamman, a resident of Jamestown.
Hamman has spent years planning for a fire station in Jamestown, an unincorporated community in northwest Smith County. On Monday, her wish finally came true.
"We had been meeting with people up on that area for nearly a year or two on the building of a station up there, being they’ve never had one. And as far as I can remember I’ve never seen one in the 74 years that I’ve been around here," Charles Wilson, vice president of voting for Smith County ESD2, said.
Jamestown residents have had to rely on Van and Mineola fire departments to look after them in the past, which has put people into dangerous situations.
"We lost our home, lightning struck our home in 1998 at the same property that we live on. So I do know what it feels like to lose everything that you own. I do know how long it takes. We’re on the very northern tip of Smith County, and I know how long it takes to get out there," Hamman said.
The construction of a new fire station in Jamestown has been a long time coming for Hamman, but she’s not going to start celebrating just yet.
"It’s a good feeling that they voted to do it, and now I will see how long it takes them to get it built. If it’s a long time coming to get it built, I will be back," Hamman said.
Once it is built, the new station will provide some peace of mind to the residents in the small town.
"But I mean if you save one life or one house, that’s worth having it there," Wilson said.
Wilson added that a timeline for the new station’s construction will be discussed at the board of commissioners regular monthly meeting next Monday.