A house in Hays County, a few hundred feet away from Fire Station 13, was destroyed by fire this past weekend.
The station in San Marcos was empty when the fire broke out, KXAN reported.
South Hays Fire Chief Robert Simonson said the station is unmanned because of a staffing issue. It is transitioning from being solely volunteer to now incorporating paid positions.
“We need to hire 18 people. We’re competing with all the other cities San Marcos, Kyle, North Hays, Austin, San Antonio,” the chief told a reporter.
Simonson said they’ll start adding more part time staff while they try to get those full time positions filled.
A local business owner is hoping to see firefighters in the station sooner rather than later.
“If there was a fire that came through, you know, that would pretty much completely wipe us out,” Michael Lambert said.
