Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has opened a new East Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) station as part of a wider US$130m investment in emergency response infrastructure.
The facility replaces two fire stations that have been in operation for more than 50 years, and forms part of the airport’s capital improvement program, DFW Forward. The investment comes as DFW continues to expand operations, having ranked as the fourth-busiest commercial airport in the world in 2025 and third for total aircraft movements, with more than 743,000 flight operations.
The ARFF modernization program will consolidate four existing stations into two centralized facilities on the east and west sides of the airfield. A second, west-side station is expected to open later this year.
Vernon Evans, chair of the DFW Airport board of directors, said, “DFW serves as the global gateway and economic engine for North Texas, and the completion of this project celebrates DFW’s commitment to our long-term vision for growth, while ensuring we maintain the highest standards of safety for our customers, employees and community.”
The new station includes 10 apparatus bays with high-speed doors designed to allow multiple vehicles to deploy simultaneously. It also features 21 dorm rooms, training and fitness areas, and dedicated spaces for hazardous materials, decontamination and equipment storage.
Built to ICC-500 standards, the facility includes an F5-rated storm shelter and infrastructure designed to maintain operations during extreme weather conditions.
Chris McLaughlin, CEO of DFW Airport, said, “Safety is part of our DNA. We build our safety culture through a multilayered approach that emphasizes training and preparedness, by making significant investments in infrastructure, and by equipping the dedicated members of DFW’s Department of Public Safety to operate at their peak every day.”
He added that the investment will support the airport’s goal of serving nearly 100 million passengers annually by the end of the decade.
Additional upgrades include the introduction of hybrid ARFF vehicles designed for fluorine-free firefighting foams. The new vehicles can accelerate from 0-80km/h in around 21 seconds, improving response times across the airport’s 7,000ha site.
Daniel White, chief of DFW Fire-Rescue, said, “We have better positioning and the ability to move multiple units concurrently, which means faster deployment to any number of airfield emergencies.”
DFW has also introduced a new mobile command post, a 12m unit equipped with cameras, satellite connectivity and multi-agency radio systems, allowing teams to manage incidents in real time.
Jerome Woodard, executive vice president and chief operating officer at DFW, said, “This new station and integrated capabilities build on DFW’s connected approach to safety, aligning infrastructure, technology and real-time communication.”
In related news, study finds DFW Airport contributes $78.3bn a year to North Texas economy
