BY VANESSA HOLT & ATIRIKTA KUMAR
The conditions
Some context
Going forward
New road projects underway through the $480 million Montgomery County Road bond, which was approved in May, could help to improve response time, Buck said. For example, a project outside of The Woodlands to connect David Memorial Drive with Hwy. 242 east on I-45 is slated to be completed with 2025 road bond funds. Completing David Memorial Drive will make it easier for emergency vehicles to reach Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital in Shenandoah, Montgomery County Precinct 3 Commissioner Ritch Wheeler said. Shenandoah also contracts with TWPD for re services. Recent shoulder widening projects through the county’s bond program will make it easier for emergency responders to navigate through tra c and respond to the call, Wheeler said. “Together, these mobility enhancements ensure that all residents and rst responders bene t from these mobility improvements,” Wheeler said. Another challenge to emergency response on the horizon is dealing with increasingly tall buildings, Buck said. He told The Woodlands board of directors in August that a high-rise re requires 42 to 48 re ghters on the scene within about 14 minutes. Two high-rises are currently under construction in the township—1 Riva Row will be 13 stories with 268 units, and the Ritz-Carlton Residences will have 111 private residences in 15 stories. Developer Howard Hughes has stated that those will be completed in 2025 and 2027, respectively.
While no major capital expenditures are planned in scal year 2026, The Woodlands Township budgeted an additional $2.1 million in the re department’s budget next year. That includes $1.81 million toward a 3.5% increase in salaries, as well as funds for a eet technician, Buck said. Meanwhile, the department must plan ahead for longer timeframes for essential equipment to be built, Buck said. “The [ re truck building] turnaround times ... went in the last ve years from being 12 to 14 months to 48 to 50 months,” he said. “So basically, from a year to four years to get a re truck delivered.” Funding for an 11th battalion of re ghters was not approved during this year’s budget allocation, but the department will request additional funding next year, Buck said.
The Woodlands Fire Department emergency response times
2019 4 minutes, 50 seconds
2020 5 minutes, 17 seconds
2021 5 minutes, 50 seconds
2022 5 minutes, 47 seconds
2023 6 minutes, 10 seconds
2024 6 minutes, 13 seconds
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS FIRE DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
Despite the recent investments, the re department has seen its response time increase from about ve minutes to over six since 2019 as a result of increasing tra c and development in the region, Buck said. “I see the department post regularly, just reminding people about making sure that if they’re parking on the street, that there’s still room for the [ re]truck to get through,” said Emily Hoppel, director of the Grogan’s Mill Village Association. One solution is to use technology that allows emergency vehicles to communicate with tra c lights, Buck said. Montgomery County will update almost every light in the county in the next two years, he said. Response time also contributes to the Insur- ance Services O ce rating in the township, which evaluates re protection services and can a ect property insurance costs. TWFD has an ISO rating of 1, the highest awarded, he said.
Budgetary needs FY 2025 budget $34.24M FY 2026 budget
+6%
$36.3M
Year over year, this is a $2.1 million increase. Most of the funds are allocated for raises.
$1.81M:
1 new eet technician 3.5% salary adjustment $134,300: computer-aided dispatch system $118,250: other expenses
$2.1M
SOURCE: THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY IMPACT
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION
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