KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - Earlier this year, the Killeen Fire Department made headlines with new Zoll monitors transforming their emergency response.

Now, the department is adding a groundbreaking new element to their capabilities-becoming the first agency in Central Texas, and the only one between Dallas and San Antonio, to carry whole blood on emergency units.

Talks of bringing pre-hospital blood transfusions to the community date back nearly eight years.