History of San Leon Fire Department

This is the only photo known to still exist which shows our original fire truck (left) which we received when we split from the Bacliff VFD. Our 1959 American LaFrance (center), and our 1968 FireFox (right) join it in front of our station which was built shortly after Hurricane Carla.

Birth of a Fire Department

Prior to 1955 our area was served by the Bacliff Volunteer Fire Department. Citizens of our community who volunteered as firefighters, drove to Bacliff to answer calls within the areas now known as Bayview, Bacliff, and San Leon. In late 1954 however, a group of firefighters decided that San Leon, being as far away from the other two communities as it was, needed its own Fire Department. They petitioned the governing body of the Bacliff VFD to secede from the department so they might form a new department in San Leon. Their request was granted and in February of 1955 the San Leon Volunteer Fire Department received its Charter from the State of Texas. Since money from the citizens of San Leon had gone toward buying equipment and trucks for the Bacliff VFD, it was agreed that this new department would receive 1 fire truck, 100 foot of hose, a nozzle, and a siren for the new fire station. Our first "station" amounted to a 2-car garage sized tin building located just two blocks off of Galveston Bay. This tin shed served us for several years. In 1959 we started laying plans for the construction of our new fire station and bought our first new fire truck, a 1959 750 GPM pumper from American LaFrance.

The Early Years

Shortly after Hurricane Carla devastated the Texas coast, a "gentleman's agreement" with our County Commissioners provided several acres of County Park property for us to build a new fire station on. All of the materials and labor that went into the construction of the new building were paid for and donated by area residents and businesses. When completed we were the proud recipients of a new concrete 3-bay fire station, complete with meeting room and kitchen. While this may not sound like much for some, and totally inadequate for others, this station was a palace for us, considering where we had come from. The people who provided this building consisted of a few small business owners, retirees, and local folks - truly the salt of the earth people - who saw a need, rolled up their sleeves, and did something about it. The Ladies Auxiliary presented us a few years later with the keys to a brand new 1968 FireFox pumper which served our department up until it's retirement in 1994.

In the early 1970's a 2500 square foot metallic extension was added to the building which added additional storage, as well as an area to hold many a fundraiser. It is in this same building that we still base our operations.

In Spring of 2004 a question of property ownership was finally put to rest when the 212th District Court in Galveston, Texas ruled in the Fire Department's favor, granting us full and complete ownership of the 2.6-acre tract the fire department has been occupying all these years.

Catastrophic Event Strikes San Leon

 September 2008 Hurricane Ike made landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula with the eye eventually going directly over San Leon. San Leon fire department just hours before hurricane Ike made landfall Made the decision to abandoned their station which was located at 12 Street and Avenue D Because of its low elevation and set up a temporary base of operations out San Leon Elementary School which is located at Broadway and 27^th St. With the information we had attained during the day while helping the citizens of the community evacuate we had a reported number between 200 and 300 individual that were going to stay and ride the storm out. The members of San Leon Fire decided also to stay and ride out the storm at the elementary school so they would be able to immediately, after the passing of the storm to provide Fire, Rescue, and EMS service to those citizens who had chosen to stay and ride out the storm.

 The community was struck with a 12 ½ foot surge, which impacted a large part of the community with major flooding of seawater. The infrastructure of San Leon had received a major blow, affecting power, communications, drinking water, and the ability to process and treat wastewater, roadways, and drainage, along with the fire station, which was also very heavily damaged.  

Overnight Things Change For The FD

Due to Hurricane Ike, the fire station can no longer be used it was no longer structurally safe to be occupied. The fire department operated the first two weeks after the storm out of San Leon Elementary School. During the second week of operating out of the school, the FD was asked to find a new location because they wanted to get the school back up and running so they can start receiving students again. While Dusty Hill was in town looking over the damage to his home, he discovered our need for a new location to operate out of and he offered his home for us to use. We operated out of that location for approximately a week until we received notification from Dusty Hill’s management company that it would be best for all parties concerned for us to find other temporary housing and a base of operations. For the next three weeks, we housed the apparatus at several members’ residences that could do so. We may make one last move to temporary housing, which we operated out of for the next six months, and that was the construction yard at our San Leon Municipal Utility District on 24th Street.

A new beginning for the fire department                                                                                                          

With the station having major structural damage and at its low elevation, trying to repair that building was a nonstarter. November 2008, the San Leon volunteer fire department made the decision to have what was left of the existing station demolished and construct a new station on the same site. Six months later, we moved into, occupied, and began operations our new station.

Today's Department

In the volunteer fire service, recruitment and retention seems to be a major concern of fire departments everywhere. We have been fortunate enough to be able to maintain on an average of between 20 and 35 active members for the last several years. Because of our situation, we cannot qualify for the State Pension Program, but we are able to offer all our active members a host of assorted insurances to protect them and their families from the hazards and pitfalls of the job they have volunteered to do for their community. The concern for the safety of our members also becomes apparent in the personal protective equipment each member is issued, and that which has been provided for their use. Today, we are also involved with providing our citizens emergency medical care - something our predecessors probably never even imagined. Our members attend a multitude of training classes, seminars, and field days annually, usually using up valuable personal vacation time for the larger, lengthier schools, just so they might better perform the duties expected of them. All totaled, our members are not content with the status-quo, we have individuals constantly looking towards the future and how we as a department can grow and better serve our public.

Our Mission Statement

The purpose of this organization shall be the preservation of life and property through rapid intervention and provision of emergency services consisting of fire suppression, and emergency medical aid to the citizens of San Leon, Texas, and to provide these same services to the citizenry of neighboring communities when requested by the authorities having jurisdiction in those communities, and to make our equipment and services available to area Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Service, or any other Emergency or Disaster Relief Organizations where such assistance would be of benefit to their operations. These services shall be provided to all residents, neighbors, travelers, and visitors to and of our community without discrimination for reasons of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, or citizenship.

The San Leon Volunteer Fire Department is a non-profit corporation recognized as tax exempt by the State of Texas and by the United States Internal Revenue Service under section 501(c)(4) of the IRS code.

Press Release 2003

San Leon VFD Sends Firefighter to the Tunnel to Towers Run

On Sept. 11 Stephen Siller was driving to meet his three older brothers at the Glenwood Country Club Golf Course in New Jersey, so the "perfect foursome" could play a round of golf. A fire buff even before he joined the Fire Department, the West Brighton native was listening to his scanner when news of the World Trade Center disaster came across. He called his wife, Sally, telling her to let his brothers know he would meet them later; he was going to get his gear and join his company, Squad 1. According to his brother, Frank, his family has pieced together the details of Stephen's final actions. They believe he drove his own car from Squad 1's Brooklyn firehouse to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, where traffic was at a standstill. He probably ran through the tunnel and was picked up by Engine 224, and after arriving at the disaster site most likely hooked up with his squad. Mr. Siller and 10 other members of Squad 1 did not survive.

The early days of San Leon

Original Mexican colonization laws allowed only people of Mexican or Spanish descent to settle on coastal land. However, Stephen F. Austin became the first American empresario given permission to colonize the Galveston Bay area. He sold a league of land bordering Galveston Bay and Dickinson Bayou to Amos Edwards in 1828. The Edwards family lived and ranched on the estate for nearly a decade. After the Texas Revolution, a portion of it was platted as the new town of Powhatan under the Republic of Texas by Dr. Branch Archer and Samuel May Williams. This town only lasted one year, as a hurricane in 1837 destroyed it. Soon thereafter, Edwards’ son Monroe sold land to another investor who created a new town called San Leon. Although there is not a lot of information about San Leon’s development or demise, it is known that the Edwards eventually lost ownership of the land which became open range for the Butler Ranch.

During the late 1800s, Galveston businessmen created a plan they hoped would diminish Houston’s potential, and make their city the premier deep-water port and industrial center. An integral part of the plan was to turn San Leon into North Galveston and build a bridge across Galveston Bay at Red Fish Bar so rail shipments could connect to Galveston without going through Houston. By 1892, North Galveston was laid out, numerous buildings were constructed, and the new North Galveston, Beaumont & Eastern Railroad was built from the new town to Virginia Point connecting it to Galveston. Several factories began producing goods like baskets, barrels, lumber, bricks, and wall board. This new factory town was well received at the Chicago World’s Fair, and excursion trains brought passengers who stayed at the new 75-room Hotel Industrial while they toured the town. The only hurdle that remained was securing permission from Congress to build the rail bridge over Galveston Bay. During this same period Houston was lobbying Congress to allow them to dredge a ship channel up Buffalo Bayou. Just as it seemed Galveston would indeed win that battle in Congress, a devastating hurricane hit the Texas coast just west of Galveston on September 8, 1900. The storm not only destroyed lives and property throughout the county, but also the future shipping monopoly for which Galveston was aiming. North Galveston was destroyed, and many of the surviving residents left. As Galveston struggled to recover, Houston solidified its plan for dredging its ship channel

A Houston businessman named Joe Eagle purchased the ghost town of North Galveston and changed its name back to San Leon. Eagle renovated the hotel, and initiated drawbridge and school construction. The area became known for fig and citrus orchards, until the Depression and freezing temperatures hurt production. San Leon’s economy began to shift in the 1920s from agricultural to commercial fishing.