Fire Department dedicates new substation

Some people can’t help but give. Kay Mayfield was one of those people.

The Wimberley Fire Department opened the Kay Mayfield Substation near Fischer Store Road last week in honor of the former firefighter who succumbed to cancer in 2014.

“She was a neighbor’s neighbor,” Ron Spangenberg, President of the Hays County Emergency Services District No. 4, the governmental entity that raises funds for the fire services in the Wimberley Valley, said. “She loved her community, and volunteered for many things including at the fire department.”

Mayfield started at the Wimberley Fire Department in 2006 and volunteered there for eight years until she passed away at the age of 63. She left her five acres of property and home to the fire department.

“She started out attending a Citizens Emergency Response Training class and got interested in firefighting,” Spangenberg said. “She was one of the highest trained wildland firefighters the department has had.”

Mayfield liked to focus on wildland fire education, which is largely based around a concept called “Firewise.” A firewise home creates a “defensible area” around a home by clearing brush and trees away from the main structure. It also involves simple ideas like making sure materials aren’t stored near the house and keeping the grass cut low. The idea is to clear enough space that a fire would not have material to burn near a home, essentially creating a protective barrier around the home.

On May 23, the Wimberley Fire Department gathered at the property to celebrate the opening on the new substation with neighbors on the property donated by Mayfield. The station will house equipment to help with the fire department’s response time. It also could act as a gathering point for firefighters should an event like the 2015 floods occur and keep the Blanco River Bridge impassable.

“Kay Mayfield loved her community, and volunteered for many things including at the fire department.”
Ron Spangenberg, President of ESD #4