By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
The Village of Volente held a groundbreaking ceremony last fall for its new $4.9 million Volente Fire Department station. Construction began in late 2024 and is expected to be complete by the end of 2025.
The community attended the October 1 ceremony and enjoyed a National Night Out at the current Volente Fire Hall, which is the main gathering place for the village which has some 780 residents in its two-square-miles.
“I just want to thank the people who made this new station a possibility, so who I want to thank is all of you from the community of the greater Volente area,” said Lonnie Moore, president of the Travis County Emergency Services District No. 14.
“This is a community supported fire department, all of our funding, all of our volunteer efforts come from within this community. This is your station and it would not be here under construction if it wasn’t for you.”
Chief Rob Zimmerman has been at the Volente Fire Department for 15 years and he looks forward to the new station.
“Currently the fire station that we work out of has been around for 63 years and we are looking forward to having an asset for our community that will last for the next sixty years,” Zimmerman said.
The leadership team visited several other fire stations and decided they needed to build rather than try to remodel the old facility, which will become a community center.
“Luckily we own the five acre track next door to the existing fire station,” Moore said.
The Volente Fire Department project went out for bid earlier this year and Trimbuilt Construction was chosen as the contractor for $4.9 million.
VFD is part of the Travis County Emergency Service District No. 14 which serves a population of 2,565 people in 16 square miles. Ten square miles of ESD 14 is Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.
The canyonlands remain in their natural state without trimming so they can pose a wildfire threat during the right conditions. Being able to protect the community and property from potential wildfire is an important role of VFD. The station was instrumental in the 2011 wildfire season and was one of the first on the scene when wildfire reached Steiner Ranch where more than 20 homes were destroyed.
In a typical year, VFD responds to about two to three structure fires a year.
“For us it’s a big event because we all know our neighbors and the impact of the loss of a house is significant,” Zimmerman said.
The station has 12 full-time employees and always has a team of three career professional firefighters on duty.
“It’s the only fire station in our community and it is quite a large community with small narrow roadways so you need a station centrally located in order to meet the response time requirements our neighbors deserve,” Moore said.
John and Judy Schotzhauer started coming to Volente with their boat 40 years ago and then moved to the community 20 years ago. The new fire station means safety to them as well as assistance in evacuations. Additionally they shared that having the local fire station close helps lower the cost of homeowner insurance.
The current station was commissioned in 1961 as the first volunteer fire department in Travis County. Now it is part of Emergency Services District 14 with a full-time staff 24/7 serving the RM 620 and RM 2222/Bullick Hollow and 2769 and Lime Creek areas.
The Volente Fire Department has come a long way since its early days. Initially there were only volunteer firefighters and their wives formed the VFD Ladies Auxiliary to help raise money for equipment. Moore laughs that he was the first man to join the Ladies Auxiliary more than 20 years ago and then shortly after its name was changed to the VFD Auxiliary.
Photos by Lynette Haaland
Important milestones in Volente Fire Department / ESD 14 history
By Roger Shull
ESD14 commissioner, former VFD Fire Chief
• 1939: Lake Travis Subdivisions platted by David C. Reed, developer
• 1942: Lake Travis is filled following completion of Marshall Ford (Mansfield) Dam
• 1947: PEC brings electric service to Volente
• 1950: 50 permanent homes in Volente
• 1961: Volunteers contribute labor and materials to construct a building to house fire-fighting equipment and supplies
• 1961: Volente Volunteer Fire Department officially chartered October 13, 1961 • 1965: VFD purchases first fire truck (used 1950 Ford, previously Texas Department of Transportation)
• 1970: Property owner annual subscription fees collected to produce revenue
• 1985: November 5, Volente votes to establish Travis County Rural Fire Prevention District #11, which provides property tax revenue
• 1996 Balcones Canyonlands Preserve established in Volente Fire District, severely constraining property tax revenue growth
• 1999: November 2, residents vote to establish Travis County Emergency Service District #14, further increasing property-tax revenues
• 2000: VFD contracts for paid 24/7 dispatcher, and enables 911 fire dispatching
• 2004: First paid firefighter hired
• 2006: First paid fire chief hired
• 2008: Staff increased to two firefighters per shift, 24/7
• 2011: Staff increased to three firefighters per shift, 24/7
• 2013: Residents outside VoV vote to collect 1% sales tax to replace revenue lost when Cedar Park annexed a large portion of ESD 14
• 2013: ESD 14 joins Travis County Automatic Aid Agreement
• 2016: ESD 14 recognized as a “Firewise Community” by the Firewise Communities/USA Corporation. • 2017: Residents outside VoV vote to exit CapMetro district and collect another 1% sales tax • 2019: Travis County BCP sponsors fuel mitigation services in ESD 14
• 2022: Travis County Auto-aid dispatching now includes Williamson County
• 2024: ESD 14 begins construction on a new fire station building!
Brief history of Volente Volunteer Fire Department
By Roger Shull
VVFD Chief, 1999-2001
Commissioner, ESD 14
Volente recorded community history starts in the 1850s with the arrival of farmer John King on upper Cypress Creek, and the construction of Thomas Anderson’s grist and gunpowder mill on lower Cypress Creek, about 1861.
In the early part of the twentieth century, the area was home to farms along the Colorado River floodplains, and cattle and goat ranches in the hills. With the completion of Mansfield Dam in 1942 and the creation of Lake Travis, Volente was soon populated with weekend fishing cabins and marinas.
By 1947 Pedernales Electric Cooperative extended its electricity service into Volente. Many weekenders soon found the area so pleasant and accessible that they sold their Austin homes and became permanent Volente residents.
By the 1950s, there were upwards of 50 permanent homes in Volente, with no organized fire protection services. After a two-story home on Geronimo Street burned to the ground, residents decided to organize a volunteer fire company. Thus began Travis County’s first organized fire service, the Volente Volunteer Fire Department, officially chartered October 13, 1961. Original officers were Owen Davis, Ray Martin, Tony Hightower, Ralph Wilson and Eric Lilja.
VVFD’s first fire fighting equipment was simply a pickup truck loaned by one of the volunteers, which hauled a 55-gallon drum of water. Volunteers attacked wildland fires by swatting with wetted burlap bags.
In the beginning, revenue came solely from donations and social events including barbeques, bingo games and fish fries often attended by Governor Preston Smith, who was a Volente weekender. Soon, sufficient money was available to upgrade VVFD equipment. Owen Davis purchased a used 1950 Ford truck from the Texas Highway Department. Volunteers installed a water tank, a pump, and a hose reel. That truck (“Ole Red”) served the Volente neighborhood for many years, and is now a preserved monument on the VVFD front lawn.
From these humble beginnings, VVFD has steadily grown, providing improved services to a growing population. By the 1970s, a VVFD membership/subscription procedure was established to enhance revenues. On November 5, 1985, Volente voters established Travis County Rural Fire Prevention District #11, which received a steady income of property-tax revenue.
As the district population grew, on November 2, 1999, district residents voted to establish Travis County Emergency Service District #14, further increasing property-tax revenues. VVFD’s first paid firefighter was hired in 2004. In 2008, staff was increased to two 24/7 positions, and since June of 2011, VVFD has had a staff of three professional fire fighters on duty around the clock, so we have dropped “Volunteer” from our operating name, although all of our administrators are still volunteers.
In 2013, and again in 2017, the district voted to collect sales taxes, to replace the property taxes lost when Cedar Park annexed the communities along Dies Ranch Road and Anderson Mill Road.