The Willowfork Fire Department is building a new administrative office and remodeling its Westheimer Parkway fire station to meet the needs of a growing district.

The new administrative office will be built next to Station 3, at 2700 Spring Green Blvd. Robert Miller, president of the district’s board of commissioners, said the new building would be 3,000 square feet and hold six offices. Presently, Station 3 is serving as a temporary administrative office during the construction.

While the groundbreaking ceremonies were March 10, Miller said construction began the previous week. He said the building is expected to be ready by February 2024, but the hope is that the construction can be completed before then.

“They hit the ground running,” Miller said. “We didn’t want to hold them up.”

The district has three stations. In addition to Station 3, Station 1 is at 24655 Westheimer Pkwy., and Station 2 is at 26950 Cinco Ranch Blvd. Station 1 previously held the administrative office.

Miller said Station 1 is undergoing renovations to make it more storm-worthy.

“It was built in 2005 and opened in 2006,” Miller said. “It was state of the art at the time.”

During Hurricane Ike in 2008, Miller said, firefighters had to back the fire trucks against the doors to keep the doors from collapsing against wind pressure.

The station is also being remodeled to enable more firefighters to be headquartered there.

“We have been looking forward to this for quite a while,” Miller said. “We started discussions about this before COVID. We’re very excited. The fire department has been crammed a little bit.”

Miller said firefighters think of the stations as their homes when they are on duty but between calls. With the renovations, he said, firefighters can take better advantage of the station when they are there. He said the firefighters are excited about the changes.

The construction and renovation work comes as the district continues to grow in population. Miller said the district serves about 70,000 people, both residential homeowners and commercial properties such as LaCenterra. The district, in north Fort Bend County, covers about 19 square miles and remains the same, geographically speaking.

“It’s just a very busy district,” Miller said.

According to its website, the district was founded in 2003. It has 15 full-time and 57 part-time personnel. In its latest published activity report, in January the department responded to seven fire calls, 138 EMS calls and three hazardous conditions calls.

CORRECTIONS: This story has bn updated to refer to the Willowfork Fire Department as a department, and not a district. Fort Bend County Emergency Services District #2 created the Willowfork Fire Department, which serves the district. The story has also been updated to say the 3,000 square feet. The story also been updated to say that during Hurricane Ike in 2008, firefighters had to back the fire trucks against the doors to keep the doors from collapsing against wind, and not floodwater, pressure.The Times regrets the errors.