Prepared for what's next

Dwayne Anderson, known to everyone in Needville as Sparky, moved to Fort Bend County fourteen years ago to help care for his mother, joined the fire department to meet his neighbors, and never left. Coming up on twelve years in the fire service, he brings an unusual background to his role as Fire Captain: years of nonprofit fundraising and grant work that have helped the department raise over two million dollars in equipment and gear. He spoke about leading a volunteer department through a period of rapid growth, and what a partnership with Ørsted has made possible.

“
I moved here to help my mother, and I joined the fire department because I didn't know anybody in Needville. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Small town, friendly people, you know your neighbors, you get to help them on their worst days. I've been here ever since.

What I brought with me was a background in fundraising and grants. Those skills have helped us build this department into what it is. But grants are competitive and resources from grant makers are shrinking, so we have had to start thinking differently about how we grow. And we have to grow. New neighborhoods are going up all around us. The highway is being widened. Big developers are moving in. A fire truck takes two years to build. You cannot wait until the growth arrives to start preparing for it.

When the solar farms came into our fire district, we had never dealt with anything like them. A solar farm falls into our high-hazard category of risk and tactics, just like a senior home. The combination of electrical risk and wildfire exposure demands a response plan that a small volunteer department has to build from the ground up. Some operators in our area were not interested in that conversation at first. Ørsted was different from the start.

The relationship began through contractors on the site and grew into something real. Ørsted hosted an electrical emergencies course for first responders right here at our station, brought in other departments, ran a practical industrial injury training that gave our crew hands-on experience with equipment we don't normally use. We did a mock alarm with Fort Bend County Dispatch to test how our communication systems actually work together. That kind of dialogue doesn't happen unless both sides want it to.

The most tangible contribution has been the drone. We saw a tethered drone that flies indefinitely off a vehicle battery, and carries thermal imaging. For a small team where every person is needed on the ground, having an eye in the sky without pulling someone off the line is a game changer. We put the proposal together with Ørsted's local team, they took it to corporate, and they made a $50,000 donation to purchase it. We have already used it on a grass fire, and it made an immediate difference.

That kind of tool helps us beyond the solar farm. Structure fires, wildland fires, search and rescue alongside the police department. Resources we can share with other agencies because we are not stretched thin running the drone ourselves.

There is also the bigger picture. Needville lost power in a major storm not long ago. People here have not forgotten that. The battery storage that comes with Ørsted's facility helps balance the grid when demand spikes, in a heat wave, in a winter snap, when the whole region is running a higher demand for energy. As this community grows, and Houston is receiving five thousand people a day into the metro area that is now spilling out this way, that kind of energy resilience matters more each year.

My message to any fire department where a solar project is coming: ask to meet the site manager, not just the contractor. Find out if they have an emergency management plan. Ask for training, ask for dialogue. If they are the right kind of company, they will say yes. Ørsted said yes to everything we asked.