Press Release
Rep. Cuellar, City of Laredo Unveil New Airport Fire Station
Laredo, Texas,
September 2, 2014
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Rafael Benavides
((956) 725-0639)
Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) joined Mayor Raul Salinas and City Manager Carlos Villarreal, along with representatives from the Laredo City Council, Laredo Fire Department and Laredo International Airport, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, unveiling the new $4.5 million, 15,400 square foot Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting Station (RFFS). The RFFS was 90 percent funded by a federal grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while the City of Laredo funded the remaining 10 percent. Due to the RFFS’s key location and proximity to airport runways, the station is expected to greatly reduce emergency response time and enhance safety for passengers travelling through the airport. Already one of the region’s most-important airports, both in terms of cargo and passengers, the addition of this RFFS is a huge accomplishment that highlights the growth our region is experiencing. The Airport RFFS will comfortably house six Laredo firefighters who will be stationed in the facility that includes a wash and decontamination room, a private staff area with six shared sleeping rooms, three bathrooms, a laundry and exercise room, a dayroom and a kitchen and dining area. “I congratulate the City of Laredo on opening this airport fire station and for securing the safety of our airline passengers and air cargo industry,” said Congressman Cuellar. “I am pleased to help to have helped provide federal investment funds for this much-needed fire station at the Laredo International Airport.”
“This is a much-needed new feature for the airport that continues to improve the airport for passenger and cargo travel alike,” said City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas. “This is one of those features that we hope we never have to use, but is very important to be able to have, just in case,” he concluded. Over the past decade, the federal government has invested more than $100 million dollars into the Laredo International Airport for improvements and reconstruction of taxiways, runaways, aprons, the installation of a Geographic Information System, and many other projects to improve the airports infrastructure, all of which were designed to facilitate commerce for the region and increase the safety and comfort for over 200,000 passengers the airport receives each year. |