The Pueblo West Fire Department is growing. This month, they are hiring four more first responders. The department has added nearly 20 people over the past four years.As the community grows, we have to grow with it, said JJ King, a Deputy Chief with the Pueblo West Fire Department. Because the demand for calls does not go down every year, it goes up." He said when the fire department gets more calls, they need more people to staff the trucks.We have grown quite a bit and the sales tax has helped tremendously, said King.In 2020, Pueblo West voters passed a 1% sales tax that goes to the Pueblo West Fire Department. It has been life changing for us, said King. Without it, we would be hurting.King said it has allowed them to buy new fire trucks and more equipment.We just purchased a new $1.4 million ladder truck. We've got two more trucks in production right now. We got a new brush truck earlier this year, said King. The department also has been able to hire 17 additional personnel.We got enough people up at Station 3 to man two or three trucks. So that helps big time, King said. Having those extra people up there at Station 3 it really helps because we have them available to take the squad unit or ladder truck.King said this is helping with response times. With the sales tax revenue, the fire department built Station 2, a new fire station on the southwest side of town."Response times improved greatly once we opened up Station 2, especially for that Southwest Region. I mean, it went from a 15-minute response down to a four or five, said King. He said keeping firefighters safe is a top priority in 2025.We need to get them in a safer environment, said King.King said the current sleeping quarters at Station 1 are not up to code.They don't have any windows in them. They're basically just enough for a twin bed, said King.To fix this, they are renovating the nearly 30-year-old Station 1.That's why we've got roughly $2.4 million in next year's budget to move the living quarters from back here in their little dungeons. They call them down here, where the current day room is. That way, they all have windows and egress, and it's just safer. So, that's the big plan for next year, said King.He said they will move the workout room to where the current sleeping quarters are now. They will also give the kitchen an upgrade. King said construction for the new rooms will begin in January.As for the fire sales tax, it was approved for a 10-year period. Pueblo West voters will need to pass it again, otherwise it will expire in 2030._______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.