League City all-volunteer fire department adapts to growing community From the cover
About the program
The big picture
Despite being an all-volunteer department, League City in 2016 received an Insurance Services Office score of 1—the scale’s highest possible score—placing the city in the 99.5% percentile nationwide for both on-staff and volunteer fire departments, according to League City’s website. An ISO assesses fire departments on their adherence to safety and operational standards to determine property insurance costs, according to the Texas Department of Insurance. “We’re one of the only volunteer fire depart- ments that has that top ranking as well,” Mayor Nick Long said at League City’s Feb. 29 State of the City address. ISO grades more than 50,000 fire departments nationwide, but only 75 Texas departments and 411 nationwide departments have earned a Class 1 rating, according to Community Volunteer Fire Department’s website. To capture an ISO score, cities are rated on factors within three major categories—com- munications, water and the fire department, according to the Texas Department of Insur- ance. The following items within those catego- ries are measured: • Dispatch and the department’s 911 system • Water supply • Number of fire stations • Training hours • Response times and the number of firefight- ers a department can get on the scene of a structure fire within nine minutes League City will be graded for a new ISO in 2026, according to League City’s website.
League City has agreements with nearby cities, such as Webster, for automatic aid in emergencies. This means firefighters can be dispatched from one city to another, ensuring the required personnel are always available. For example, a structure fire requires up to 16 firefighters to be present at once. For League City’s current size, Daniel Gibbs, who has been a League City firefighter for 21 years, said having 180 volunteers would be ideal. Considering that there are 140 volunteers—with an annual attrition rate of five firefighters— recruitment is a priority, Gibbs said. “Fire doesn’t know the difference between a paid individual and a volunteer,” Gibbs said. “So you have to be just as well-trained, informed and educated as you are as a professional volunteer. So we don’t cut corners … just to make numbers.”
Established in 1939 with 33 volunteers, League City’s Fire Department initially served a rural community. However, as the city grew, the department had to adapt to fighting fires in an urbanizing environment. With about 40% of League City still undeveloped, officials expect urbanization to continue. “The responsibilities of course increase with that over time,” Fire Chief Michael Lugo said. “Response times is … a very particular piece to it along with staffing of the [fire department].” In December, League City Volunteer Fire Department Inc. signed a contract with the city mandating that two fire stations have fully staffed volunteer engines. However, the department has also created other avenues for backup support.
Volunteer staff Full-time staff
9 minutes
1,864 calls received in 2023
was the average response time in 2021
(Population)
League City (121,598) 140 Pasadena (147,662)
120 hours
5 cadets
of training through College of the Mainland required to be a volunteer
on average, graduate from class each year
200
Sugar Land (110,077) 140 Pearland (132,300) 100 The Woodlands (115,716) 163
$16M-$18M
8,000 hours of collective training required annually by volunteer firefighters
of taxpayers’ money is saved annually with volunteers vs. full-time employees
SOURCES: LEAGUE CITY, PASADENA, PEARLAND, SUGAR LAND AND THE WOODLANDS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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