OUR HISTORY:
Dixon VFD was established in 1965 by a group of local volunteers who saw a need to provide more timely responses to fires and medical emergencies. The original Officers were Raymond E. Romero (Fire Chief), Alfredo Garcia (Assistant Chief), Stella Martinez (Secretary-Treasurer) and Don Mulder (Coordinator). In the previous two years, home fires had caused costly property losses and a death. At the time, responses from Española Fire Department could take at least 40 minutes with similar response times for an ambulance from Presbyterian Española Hospital. Local volunteers worked with Rio Arriba County and the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office to acquire apparatuses and training.
The first Dixon Fire Station was housed in the historic adobe La Sala Filantrópica building on the Dixon plaza, which was the home for Dixon VFD until 2003 when the new Dixon Fire Station 1 was built. The early history of Dixon EMS is closely tied to the Embudo Presbyterian Hospital. In the first half of the 20th century, the Dixon area was extremely isolated and medically underserved. The Presbyterian Church had established the Embudo Mission in Dixon that included a two-bed hospital (The Brooklyn Cottage) established in 1915 which later expanded into a 25-bed full-service hospital in Embudo (The Embudo Presbyterian Hospital) in 1940. The Embudo Presbyterian Hospital (map location) closed in 1974 and became the Embudo Clinic. About that time, the family of a woman whose life was saved by Dixon EMS volunteers donated a panel van to the Presbyterian Embudo Clinic, which became one of the first ambulances in New Mexico north of Santa Fe.
At the time, Dixon EMS was spearheaded by O.R. Mascareñas, a former Army Combat Medic and Korean War veteran who responded to EMS calls and taught EMS courses. The Presbyterian Embudo Clinic closed its doors in 1980. At that time ambulance services were folded into Dixon VFD (many volunteers had already worked for both entities), and Dixon VFD became Dixon VFD/EMS. The current Dixon EMS ambulance (Dixon Rescue 3) was obtained by Rio Arriba County through a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2005. Worthy of special recognition in the history of Dixon VFD/EMS is the Berghofer family (Carl, Faith and Carl “Windy” Jr.) who were instrumental in establishing Department infrastructure, firefighting training and radio communications.
DIXON VFD/EMS TODAY:
The Dixon Fire District includes communities along the lower Rio Embudo (Dixon, Apodaca, Montecito & Cañoncito) and along the Rio Grande (Embudo Station, Embudo, La Junta, Rinconada & La Bolsa). Dixon VFD/EMS is under the jurisdiction of Rio Arriba County Fire & Emergency Services and the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office. We receive financial and logistical support through these entities and through the New Mexico EMS Bureau of the New Mexico Department of Health. Training support is provided by the New Mexico Firefighters’ Training Academy in Socorro and the UNM New Mexico EMS Academy. Dixon VFD/EMS has two Fire Stations. Dixon Fire Station 1 is located at 183A New Mexico State Highway 75 in Dixon, and Dixon Fire Station 2 is located at 2247 New Mexico State Highway 68 in Rinconada. Historically, two Fire Stations were necessary because Dixon was occasionally cut off from Embudo and Rinconada by flash flooding of the Arroyo de la Mina, preventing responses from Dixon Station 1 (see this video by Chuck Wright of flooding of the Arroyo de la Mina on July 11, 2014). This arrangement is still advantageous because the Dixon Fire District consists of two intersecting narrow bands, one extending along the Rio Embudo (more easily served by Station 1) and one extending along the Rio Grande (more easily served by Station 2).
Dixon Station 1 was built in 2003 and expanded in 2018. It has 5 vehicle bays that house two Fire Engines (a fire apparatus that specializes in pumping large volumes of water at high pressure), one Fire Tender (a fire apparatus for carrying large volumes of water), one Brush Truck (a vehicle that specializes in fighting brush fires), and our ambulance (Dixon EMS Rescue 3). Station 1 has a large classroom with advanced audiovisual capabilities for instruction and video conferencing. Station 1 has a fully-equipped fitness center with aerobic machines and weight training equipment. Station 1 has an array of photovoltaic panels with battery back-up to supply the Station 1 electric power in the event of an outage. Dixon Station 2 has two vehicle bays and houses one Fire Engine and one Fire Tender.
All emergency calls for Dixon VFD/EMS services are initiated and coordinated by Rio Arriba (RA) Central Dispatch, the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for all 9-1-1 calls in the County.
Dixon VFD/EMS personnel communicate with RA Central Dispatch and each other through 2-way VHF radios and via a cellphone app. There are two VHF radio repeaters located on the ridgetop between Dixon and Rinconada that allow for relatively reliable radio communications in this geographically challenging region. RA Central Dispatch provides us with access to dispatch information, mutual aid assistance, law enforcement and medical air transport services. Dixon VFD/EMS is a dedicated group of community volunteers who respond to calls whenever they are available. We have no call schedule, but between 4 and 10 volunteers respond to every call. In the past 5 years, Dixon VFD/EMS has responded to every 9-1-1 call in our District and always on the first page-out. Dixon EMS communicates with local hospitals (Presbyterian Española Hospital & Taos Holy Cross Hospital) via a statewide UHF EMSCOMM radio on Dixon Rescue 3.