History
History of Lake Travis Fire Rescue
In 1963, After a series of wild land fires plagued the community, the residents of Hudson Bend secured donated fire equipment from the U.S. Forest Service. Until this, there was no recognized fire protection. And by 1964 The Hudson Bend Volunteer Fire Department was formed by both men and women of the Lake Travis area.
As the Lake Travis population began to grow, so did the fire department’s roster to include the Lakeway Fire Department. The Lakeway Fire Department merged in the mid 70’s with the Hudson Bend Volunteer Fire Department.
By the mid-to-late 80’s, a special Rural Fire Protection District was formed to provide financial funding to the fire department and as time passed State Legislation was passed allowing voters to establish a political subdivision in attempts to form a Board of Commissioners and a stronger tax base, as Rural Fire Protection Districts had limited tax amounts. (Chapter 775 of the Health and Safety Code.)
In 1995, Travis County Emergency Services District No. 6 was formed providing the Hudson Bend Fire Department the financial strength to keep up with community’s needs. With the increased tax base, the Travis County ESD No. 6 Commissioners could provide the citizens of Lake Travis with firefighters and state of the art equipment to ensure the level of fire protection was adequate. Staffing of four stations with two firefighters per engine was attained.
A fifth station was added in Steiner Ranch in 2000 as call volume was increasing and in 2008 TCESD No. 6 Commissioners changed the name of the department from Hudson Bend Fire Department to Lake Travis Fire Rescue.
More recently, the TCESD No. 6 Board of Commissioners created the Lake Travis Fire Rescue Citizen’s Advisory Committee in 2014 and by 2015 all Lake Travis Fire Rescue fire stations were staffed with four firefighters, which was a tremendous milestone for LTFR and the community it serves and protects. In December of 2019, Fire Station 606 opened, providing additional services to the growing community in the Hamilton Pool area.
