The $12 Million Move: New fire station in The Woodlands escapes cracking fault line

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - For nearly two decades, the firefighters at The Woodlands Fire Station 5 were fighting a battle that had nothing to do with flames. They were fighting the ground beneath their feet.

Fighting the ground beneath their feet

The backstory:

On January 31, local officials and first responders showcased the brand-new, $12 million Fire Station 5 on McBeth Way, a facility born out of necessity after the previous station was quite literally torn apart by a geological phenomenon known as a "growth fault."

"We were actually having to shave down the floor, so doors would open," said Woodlands Fire Chief Palmer Buck. "The rolling overhead doors were starting to have problems and get off-kilter because you could see where the station was shifting."

The culprit is the Panther Branch Fault, one of several "creep" faults that snake through the suburban landscape of Montgomery County. Unlike the violent tectonic shifts associated with California earthquakes, these faults move slowly and consistently.

More stable ground

Dig deeper:

Dr. Shuhab Khan, a professor of geology at the University of Houston, says the movement is often "woken up" by human activity.

"Whenever there is more pumping, groundwater pumping, subsidence happens," Dr. Khan said. "Those areas see faults also moving. It causes damage to pipes, utilities, and foundations."

At the old station on Branch Crossing Drive, the damage became a threat to efficiency. Structural shifts caused water main breaks and jammed the heavy bay doors that fire trucks must pass through to respond to emergencies.

Chief Buck noted that while they attempted to maintain the building, engineers eventually delivered a tough reality, no repair could be guaranteed for more than a few years because the earth simply wouldn't stop moving.

The Woodlands Township and the Montgomery County Hospital District opted to move the operation half a mile away to more stable ground. The move also had an unintended benefit, getting the station out of a congested school zone, which has already led to improved response times.

"It was a better way to spend the taxpayers' money," Buck said. "Not throwing good money after bad trying to repair a station that the engineers said was only going to get worse."

The new 16,000-square-foot facility is built on a site that lacks the "infill" issues of the previous location. The old station will not go to waste, however; it is currently being converted into a logistics warehouse and storage hub for the department.

"Sinking" of the suburbs

Why you should care:

While the new station is a win for public safety, Dr. Khan warns that the "sinking" of the suburbs isn't over. He notes that as areas like Katy, Cypress, and The Woodlands continue to grow, monitoring the shifting earth should become the "new norm."