Spring Fire Department will open the doors of its new W.W. "Cotton" Weaver Training Center to the public on Oct. 3 for the department's first Fire Prevention Month Safety Fest at the facility.
The department announced the event on X on Saturday, Aug. 8, saying it will share specific hours, activities and registration details before the event.
The Safety Fest continues a tradition of October community safety events the department has hosted in previous years under names like "Spring Into Safety Fest" and "Safetober Fest," which were held in Old Town Spring. This year marks the first time the event moves to the roughly 63-acre training center campus at 26200 Lexington Road, near the corner of Lexington and Louetta.
A facility built for the next 50 years
The training center officially opened in May 2026 and represents the biggest infrastructure investment in Spring Fire's history. The three-story burn building alone cost an estimated $3.05 million, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records, with construction running from January 2024 through March 2026.
At the heart of the campus sits a 48,670-square-foot logistics building with 52-foot ceilings, tall enough for ladder trucks to fully extend indoors for maintenance. Before the facility opened, vehicle maintenance often took place in station parking lots.
The complex also includes specialized burn buildings where interiors reach up to 1,000 degrees during live fire exercises. One structure simulates a residential home with roof-mounted anchor systems for rappelling drills; another mimics an apartment complex. Bleachers allow observers to watch simulations safely.
"We can't be thinking today only about today. What we are doing is building to last fifty years or more," Chief Scott Seifert said in an April 2024 department update about the project's long-term vision.
Named for a founding firefighter
The center honors Wilbur Waldo "Cotton" Weaver, a 1953 charter member and former fire chief who helped found the Spring Volunteer Fire Department. Weaver passed away in January 2026 at age 93. He began his career fighting fires in street clothes with no helmet, no gloves and no protective gear. A crowbar was the only rescue tool.
The land was purchased in July 2018 from the Bayer family. Seller Don Bayer stipulated the facility carry Weaver's name, saying, "I've known Cotton all my life. He deserves this."
Weaver attended the groundbreaking ceremony on July 7, 2023. At a July 2018 naming ceremony, he reflected on the department's growth: "When we started this fire department 65 years ago, we never thought that it'd be this big today."
Spring Fire Department serves 176,000 residents across 62 square miles of north Harris County and holds an ISO Class 2 rating. The Oct. 3 Safety Fest will give families a firsthand look at where their firefighters train. The department said additional details will be posted before the event.
Upcoming
- Oct. 3 — Fire Prevention Month Safety Fest, W.W. "Cotton" Weaver Training Center, 26200 Lexington Road, Spring. Hours and activities to be announced by Spring Fire Department.
