During 1985-1995, fire deaths in Texas occurred at a rate of 2.61 per 100,000 residents, slightly below the national average. New training methods and requirements, new technology and community awareness have greatly improved fire protection in Texas over the past decade. Counties with fire marshals are required to investigate the causes of fires, but the great majority of counties do not have fire marshals. At a county's request, the State Fire Marshal's Office will help investigate local fires. As cities' fire protection needs have outgrown the services of volunteer fire departments, paid firefighters have become a necessity in Texas' urban areas.
Many cities pay for fire protection through general revenues and bond funds.
Residents of some counties have created special districts to fund these services through property taxes. These funds are used to pay contracts with local fire departments. All paid and mixed departments operate under such contracts, as do about 300 of the roughly 1,700 all-volunteer departments. The remaining volunteer departments operate solely from private donations and fundraising events. As one example, Washington County, midway between Austin and Houston, has nine volunteer departments and one mixed department, the Brenham Fire Department, with 10 paid firefighters and about 45 volunteers.