Texas Fire World
May-June, 2005

Officials have recently begun construction on the Harris County Fire and Sheriff’s Training Academy. The finished structure will be 65,600 square feet and will be located next to Lindsey Lyon Park. The sight was formerly the jail and sheriff’s academy which has been torn down to make way for the new $8.7 million facility. The new facility is being funded through bonds and the county’s general fund and is expected to be completed March 9, 2006. It will be able to house up to 200 people and will include the sheriff’s academy building, fire investigation and evidence storage buildings, a four-level burn tower, and a hazardous materials/ training fire station. The academy building will feature indoor and outdoor multi-purpose training areas, eight classrooms, a fitness/exercise room, locker rooms with showers, a library, student lounge, administrative support offices, and conference rooms. The Harris County Fire Marshal, fire investigators, and inspectors will be housed and supported in the fire investigation and evidence storage buildings. Fire simulations and rescue operation scenarios will be conducted in the burn tower. The county’s hazardous materials equipment, personnel, classrooms and administrative offices will be located in the hazmat/ fire station which will be in operation 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to its many uses, the academy will serve as a control base during emergency situations to support first responders in emergency operations. Upon its completion, the academy will be a top-notch education and training facility to Harris County and the surrounding areas.