New facility coming to Mission Bend area to help responders train after central Texas flooding

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- After what happened in the Hill Country, a group of first responders in the Houston area want to build a flood training facility to better equip responders in future events.

While some firefighters have the boats, vehicles, and gear, they don't have a good place to train for flooding. An issue a group of responders is working to solve.

Along Bellaire Boulevard, right on the Harris County and Fort Bend County line, is where the Emergency Services District 100 wants to build the STORM Ranch, also known as the swift water training for operation and rescue missions.

Right now, responders go to rivers or waterparks to train. Instead, they'll be able to practice in controlled settings.

One of those could simulate what happened on July 4 when the Guadalupe River flooded.

"This channel itself will simulate things you'll find in the Texas Hill Country," Community Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bobby Clark explained.

Because Houston is different, there are other scenarios too. There's a simulator for bayou flooding.

There's another area with a village to train for neighborhood flooding. "We can flood the building, all the way up to the second floor," Clark explained.

A situation that played out almost eight years ago during Hurricane Harvey as responders sent boats into flooded streets.

"Having a specific site that's a controlled environment will allow firefighters to truly train to deal with those types of disasters could be the difference between possibly saving a life," Community Volunteer Fire Department Cpt. Samantha Smith said. "That's why it's so important."

The facility costs $65 million. The group behind it plans to invest about half of the money.

The funds come from people who live in the area through property taxes and sales tax. They're working to secure the other half through grants.

Clark said they hope to break ground by the end of the year.

It's not the first time this has been attempted. Three years ago, Houston Community College announced something similar.

But the northeast campus grounds remain untouched. ABC13 asked school officials all week what happened, but we never heard back.

While that's stalled, the other facility is moving forward with a goal to be open in less than two years.

A place where officials say 6,000 could get trained a year.

"We want to be more proactive than reactive," Clark explained. "This is a facility that will not only help us for our department, but will also help the region."

An approach firefighters say is needed to give them more than tools after seeing what responders dealt with a week ago.

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