The Tarkington fire station was built in late 1979 on one acre of land located approximately
6 miles south of Cleveland, Texas on SH 321 near the intersection with FM 163. Originally built with three
bays and an attached meeting room, the station was converted in 1997 to four bays. The meeting room was moved
to a building on the same property that had housed Liberty County Justice of the Peace offices for several years.
The bay was added to accomodate all four pieces of apparatus, which for years had been crowded into three bays.
Situated on on of the highest pieces of land in Tarkington, the station has served as a disaster shelter on many
occasions. It was the command center for operations during the search for a Army Reserve helicopter that
crashed near the station during Operation Desert Shield in late 1990.
In 1998 the TVFD was approved for a loan from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to expand the station. Construction was begun in early 1999 and the exterior was completed in early August. The expansion added another bay, bringing the total to five, as well as a larger meeting room, bathroom, kitchen, communications room, storage, and offices. In 2012, the building received some storm damage, and the building was reskinned to repair the damage.
Located behind the station are TVFD's training facilities, including a container to simulate a structure fire and a vehicle fire simulation. There is a second container that will be converted to be used as a flashover simulator.
