Dixon Volunteer Fire Department & Emergency Medical Services (Dixon VFD/EMS) is an all-volunteer community organization that serves the people of the lower Rio Embudo Valley (Dixon, Embudo, Embudo Station, Rinconada, La Junta, La Bolsa, Apodaca, Montecito & Cañoncito). A map of the Dixon Fire District is available here. Our District begins near mile marker 17 on NM State Highway 68 (just downriver of the bridge to Embudo Station) and extends to the Taos County line. Dixon VFD/EMS provides services under the authority of Rio Arriba County Fire & Emergency Services. Through longstanding relationships, we work with neighboring communities including Ojo Sarco, Peñasco, Picuris Pueblo and Velarde to fight fires and respond to local disasters. Our Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) respond to over 150 emergency 9-1-1 medical calls each year including many motor vehicle accidents on New Mexico State Highway 68. Our Firefighters answer about 25 calls each year to home fires and to frequent brushfires and bosque fires that threaten the community. We provide traffic control when big rocks fall onto NM 68, swift water rescue for boaters on the Pilar Racecourse section of the Rio Grande Gorge, and backcountry search & rescue throughout the area.
Dixon VFD/EMS also provides other community services. We have trained over 200 local citizens in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and we have placed Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in three strategic public locations in town. Dixon EMS regularly holds Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) certification courses for volunteers throughout the region. Through our affiliation with the American Red Cross, we have distributed smoke detectors in many homes in the region. Dixon VFD/EMS is a member of an American Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT) that assists individuals impacted by home fires in the first critical hours following the disaster. Dixon EMS recently conducted a COVID-19 testing event for the community when there were few opportunities for coronavirus testing in rural Rio Arriba County. Dixon VFD provides fire safety awareness instruction.
Fire Departments receive a rating every few years called an “ISO Rating”, also known as Public Protection Classification (PPC) Codes. ISO stands for “Insurance Services Office”, and the program is now run by a third-party company called Verisk. Verisk reports its findings to private insurance companies who then use the ISO ratings as one factor in determining homeowners’ fire insurance rates. ISO sends evaluators to fire departments who assess many factors including 1) water supplies available to fight fires; 2) the department’s fire apparatus; 3) department personnel and training; and, 4) emergency telecommunications. ISO ratings run from 1 (best rating) to 10 (absence of effective firefighting resources). Many New Mexico Fire Departments (especially volunteer fire departments) have an ISO Rating of 5, although many more have a rating of 6 or 9. Fire Departments with ISO Ratings of 1 through 3 are generally in larger communities in the state with paid career firefighters. Dixon VFD received a “split rating” of 5/5Y in 2018, meaning that we have the capabilities of a Class 5 Department, but there are houses in our Fire District that are outside the reach of our fire hydrants. It is entirely possible that Dixon VFD can improve its ISO Rating to 4/4Y at our next evaluation in 2022. One major factor that we have working in our favor (and to the benefit of the community) is the presence of 20 fire hydrants in our Fire District – 12 in Dixon along NM 75 and 8 in Montecito / Cañoncito along NM 580. We are working hard to increase the number and quality of our trainings and to better document all of our volunteer activities to get to an ISO Class 4 Rating. We want to do this not only to reduce your fire insurance rates but more importantly as a demonstration of our commitment to provide you with the best fire protection that we possibly can.
Our core values: Service – Integrity – Respect