Firefighting is a calling. The desire to serve, the courage to act and the ability to perform define Spring Firefighters. The ability to save lives and property requires training.
From the first seven volunteers who formed the Spring Volunteer Fire Department in 1953 to today’s professionals, training has always been essential. Not just for firefighters to learn new skills, but to strengthen their awareness and adaptability to handle the most critical situations.
Serious discussions began in the 1990s on the need for dedicated training space for Spring Firefighters. The effort started with discussions held amongst multiple fire departments and the county on the possibility of building a fire training center in Spring. A lack of funding ended that effort. It would be a couple of decades before a new vision would emerge.
In the early 2010s the changing Spring community prompted serious discussions on hiring career firefighters and having a dedicated training space. The property search began in 2012. Three acres were purchased behind Station 75 in 2013. The purchase occurred within days of Spring Fire hiring its first full-time firefighters.
While the Kreinhop property was used for several years for rescue training, no structures were built. Leadership quickly realized three acres was not enough. Fifteen acres at James C. Leo and Cypresswood was purchased in 2015.
Three years later the property that would become the W.W. “Cotton” Weaver Training Facility was purchased from the son of a former Spring Fire Chief.
After years of planning, design work and a global pandemic, construction of Phase I began in 2023.
There is so much more to the training center vision that will honor Spring Fire’s past and help build our future. Read the rest of the story here. Community News: Honoring Our Past – Building Our Future