Celina will build a new, larger Fire Station 2 just a few hundred feet from the current station in Light Farms, part of a rapid expansion that has the city already planning beyond its fourth firehouse.

The replacement station will take over emergency response duties from the existing building at 1800 Light Farms Way, which opened in January 2020. Once the new facility is complete, the original structure will be renovated for other fire department functions, according to the Celina Record, which first reported the project Friday, Aug. 21.

The Celina City Council voted unanimously at that Aug. 21 meeting to approve a $1.2 million contract with Conduct Architecture & Design for the replacement station. The city has not released a total construction cost, a construction timeline or a groundbreaking date beyond that design contract.

Four stations and counting

Celina has opened three fire stations in the past 11 years. A fourth, a 16,000-square-foot facility at 1205 Punk Carter Parkway on the city's east side, broke ground in November 2025 and is expected to open by February 2027. Fire Chief Shawn White called that project "a public safety milestone" in a July report by the Celina Record.

City officials have already begun discussing the need for stations beyond the fourth. The city has secured more than a dozen properties throughout its boundaries for future public safety facilities, according to a city announcement.

Growth driving demand

The expansion tracks Celina's explosive population growth. The U.S. Census Bureau ranked Celina the No. 1 fastest-growing city in America among cities with populations over 20,000. The city grew from about 6,000 residents in 2010 to roughly 64,000 as of 2026, with population jumping 119% between 2022 and 2026.

The fire department is staffing up, too. White told Celina City Council at a June 9 meeting that the department plans to hire nine additional firefighters in fiscal year 2026-27, moving all engine crews from three to four members, according to Community Impact. The proposed city budget for that fiscal year totals $529.1 million, a $146 million increase over the prior year, and includes the new firefighter positions.

"There is not an initiative or a budget item that is more important in our City than those related to public safety," Mayor Ryan Tubbs said in the January 2024 edition of the city's Life Connected magazine, when Celina was preparing to open Fire Station 3 and a new police headquarters.

That station is big. Fire Station 3, a 23,324-square-foot facility near the Sutton Fields development at FM 1385 and Ballenger Drive on Celina's western edge, features a five-lane apparatus bay and quarters for 12 firefighters.

The city has scheduled a Fire Station 2 open house for Sept. 19 at 1805 Light Farms Way, an address adjacent to the current station, according to the city's event calendar. The specific 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. window could not be independently confirmed for this story, as the calendar listing was not directly accessible during fact-checking.