Klein Fire Department firefighters walked every hallway of the new UTMD Anderson Northwest Houston Diagnostic Imaging Center before a single patient arrived, learning how to handle emergencies in a building where standard rescue gear could become a deadly projectile.

In the weeks before the facility opened in Klein, all first-due shifts completed detailed safety walk-throughs of the imaging center, the department said on Aug. 9. Crews surveyed the layout, identified access points, reviewed emergency procedures with staff and familiarized themselves with daily operations.

The MRI suites drew the most attention.

MRI magnets generate fields 60,000 to 120,000 times stronger than Earth's magnetic field and remain active around the clock, even during power outages. The magnets never turn off. Ferromagnetic objects like oxygen tanks and metal stretchers can become high-speed projectiles near an active scanner, and large items can pin a person against the magnet.

Klein firefighters studied the magnetic field hazards, equipment shutdown processes and safe patient removal routes specific to the imaging center's MRI rooms.

The department described the walk-throughs as a core part of its readiness strategy, saying the goal is to understand a building before the first 911 call ever comes in.

Why it matters locally

Klein Fire Department covers roughly 49 square miles of northern Harris County and serves nearly 200,000 residents from eight stations with about 200 personnel. Call volume has surged from 1,745 in 2010 to 6,070 in 2025, a 248 percent increase in 15 years.

The proactive training comes after Klein voters approved a tax rate cap increase on May 2, raising the ceiling from $0.05 to $0.10 per $100 of property valuation. As we reported Aug. 6, the department has faced mounting operational strain as the Klein area grows.

"This election placed the future of emergency services in the hands of the Klein community," Fire Chief Jason Catrambone said in May, after the vote passed 706-534. "Klein Fire Department can continue meeting the community's expectations for timely, professional, and well-equipped emergency response."

The department said stable property and sales tax revenue allows it to invest in training, equipment and planning that make pre-opening walk-throughs possible.

Klein Fire's next challenge: keeping pace with new commercial and medical construction across a district that already includes an acute-care hospital, an FAA-controlled airport and two major highways.