The new W.W. "Cotton" Weaver Training Center opens to the public Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

It marks the first time residents can walk through the Spring Fire Department's long-planned training facility. The department said on X that firefighters are running live fire search-and-rescue drills at the center all week. Saturday's open house will include live demonstrations, tours and a chance to meet first responders.


The event doubles as a fire prevention expo with safety demonstrations and a festival open to all ages, according to Community Impact. Visitors can tour department vehicles and grab food from food trucks.

The grand opening was originally set for Oct. 3 but was rescheduled because of weather forecasts, Community Impact reported.

Years in the making

The training center sits on nearly 52 acres at Lexington and Louetta in the heart of Spring Fire's territory. Phase I includes a 52,000-square-foot building along with burn buildings and training props, communications director Tracee Evans told Community Impact.

Harris County Emergency Services District 7 (HCESD7) commissioners purchased the initial three acres on Kreinhop Road in 2013. The larger parcel was sold by Don Bayer, son of former fire chief Arthur Bayer, and the sale closed July 2, 2018, according to the Spring Fire Department's website. Bayer had one condition: the center had to carry the name of Cotton Weaver.

The facility was designed by Abercrombie Design + Planning of Fort Worth and built in phases, starting with infrastructure, a logistics and maintenance building and two specialized burn buildings. A groundbreaking was held July 7, 2023.

Honoring a founding figure

Wilbur Waldo "Cotton" Weaver led the Spring Fire Department for decades after a 1953 fire at Immanuel Church in Spring led to the founding of the Spring Volunteer Fire Department. Weaver died Jan. 14, 2026, at 93.

"His boots will never quite be filled again," Fire Chief Scott Seifert said in a tribute posted by the department after Weaver's death.

Weaver toured the construction site multiple times in 2025, stopping to thank workers and telling them how "fantastic" the buildings looked, the department said. The facility's maintenance building uses a drive-through design. Fire and rescue trucks enter one door and exit the other side while receiving service.

Spring firefighters serve 176,000 people across 62 square miles of Harris County. The training center sits at Lexington and Louetta.