The purpose of emergency warning equipment is to let drivers and pedestrians know that an emergency vehicle is on the way to an emergency. We must carefully proceed through controlled intersections and travel against the designated flow of traffic at times.

To ensure the most effective service at the time of an emergency, our crews must remain in their designated response territory with their fire trucks during their entire shift. Our crews work 12 to 24-hour shifts with no scheduled breaks, and meals are not provided by the department. Personnel on each shift must purchase their own food and prepare their own meals, so they may make a daily trip to the grocery store within their first due neighborhood to buy whatever they need to prepare their meals for the entire shift.

Fire crews do not have to be sitting in the fire station to be dispatched to a call. Since all units maintain constant radio contact with County Fire Communications and the entire crew must always be together with their truck, they are always ready to respond to any emergency, regardless of their current location or non-emergency assignment. Very often, our firefighters spend long periods of their day running calls, without returning to the station or stopping to eat, and they frequently have to return to the grocery store several times to finish purchasing food that they might not get a chance to cook during the shift.

A fire truck will sometimes arrive at an incident first because it is the closest emergency unit to the scene and we are committed to getting help to your location as fast as possible. The Department currently has one main station strategically placed. All firefighters are trained to provide basic emergency medical treatment. Since there are limited ambulances in the County, firefighters respond to all calls involving life-threatening symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, chest pains, and severe bleeding. They initiate treatment to stabilize patients and provide information to the ambulance crew when they arrive on the scene.

Each fire truck carries and average of two to three firefighters and it is necessary to have enough firefighters on the scene of an incident. There are a number of specialized roles that firefighters undertake at the scene of a fire, and firefighting is a very labor-intensive activity. If you get behind because there are not enough firefighters on the incident, it is more difficult to get people there to extinguish a fire quickly before it spreads.

You can arrange to receive an incident report by calling the Fire Department at 915-852-3204. There is a fee to acquire a report of $5.00 for each report. You must come to the main station to make payment and fill out the application for open records. It takes an average of five to ten business days for a report to be completed.

The El Paso County Emergency Services District No.1 receives a limited number of smoke alarms for distribution. An application is filled out along with a waiver of liability. If you can afford a smoke alarm but have a question or concern regarding installation of your own smoke alarm, please contact the Office of the Fire Marshal at 915-852-3204.

Firefighters ventilate smoke and superheated gases for safety and visibility. This allows firefighters to get inside the building to find and extinguish the fire, thereby reducing property damage. This also reduces the chance of a backdraft explosion.

Ambulances carry Basic and Advanced Life Support equipment, and personnel are trained as emergency medical technicians up to paramedic certification. They are able to handle and transport people with minor to severe injuries to the hospital. For the county, it is currently Life ambulance. Rescue Units are staffed by Fire fighters who respond from fire stations, usually pickups or SUV’s used as quick response vehicles. These vehicles allow firefighters to get to the scene quicker.

It’s for the safety of our personnel and our patients. Blocking extra lanes keeps our personnel safe when they go back to the apparatus to get more equipment, and it helps protect the victim we are trying to stabilize from other vehicles striking them.

The fire hose is the lifeline of a firefighter when fighting a fire. If you drive over it, the hose can be damaged, and any firefighter at the end of a nozzle will have the water interrupted — possibly causing injury or death.

To become a Volunteer Firefighter, you must have certain qualifications. You can get a list of those qualifications at 14151 Nunda ave, Horizon city TX or visit our website and look for the application link.

El Paso County strictly regulates and prohibits open burning outdoors. There is currently a burn ban in place because of the dry conditions.

We inspect fire hydrants for proper operation. We turn the fire hydrants on to make sure they operate properly. We turn the hydrants on slowly so as not to stir up the sediment that is in the pipes, but at times the sediment does get stirred up and the water coming out of your faucet can be brown in color. After a few hours that sediment will settle and the water color goes back to normal.

Currently, El Paso County Emergency Services District No. 1 (Horizon Fire Department) maintains a fire protection class rating of “Class 2 / 9” through the Insurance Service Office.

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In the Event of an Emergency - Call 911