Nueces County ESD #4 / Bluntzer Fire

A little about Us
Like many rural fire companies, the Bluntzer area volunteers aren't paid and don't have many luxuries.
Across the state and the country, there are men and women like them, teen-agers and 60-year-olds, farmers and refinery workers, who walk away from their jobs or roll out of bed in the dead of night to keep their communities from being reduced to cinders and smoke.
In Bluntzer, about 15-20 volunteers protect 250 - 300 square miles of area in a rural land where there are just three fire hydrants capable of pushing water through their hoses. They operate seven fire trucks and two ambulances on a shoestring budget due to their rural tax base. Distance, aging equipment and volunteers are the biggest factors we have to deal with in this time of drought. While the oilfield boom has been fantastic for the local economy, it has increased traffic and EMS calls as well as rescue and fire calls. It has also brought with it new pipelines through our district.
Fifteen years ago, the district set up an EMS service. Prior to that, ambulance services from around the area would take up to 30 minutes to reach the back roads near Banquete and Bluntzer. Diana Bluntzer helped start the Bluntzer Volunteer Fire Department's EMS 20 years ago after she called 911 ready to give birth. She didn't have any emergency services closer than 14 miles away to help her. Now, ambulances can be on the scene of an emergency in a fraction of that time.
23 years ago, Lloyd Bluntzer came back from a movie with his wife to find a group of firefighters soaking down the remains of his house.
Instead of getting angry, Lloyd Bluntzer recognized that the firefighters needed help. Lloyd was at the group's next meeting, determined to be a volunteer and five years later, in 1995 he was elected Fire Chief.

Volunteer forces
In Texas and around the country, volunteers such as Bluntzer make up the bulk of the fire protection, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
NFPA estimates that there were approximately 1,100,450 firefighters in the U.S. in 2011. Of the total number of firefighters 344,050 or 31% were career firefighters and 756,400 (69%) were volunteer firefighters. Most of the career firefighters (73%) are in communities that protect 25,000 or more people. Most of the volunteer firefighters (94%) are in departments that protect fewer than 25,000 people. There are an estimated 30,145 fire departments in the U.S. Of these, 2,550 departments are all career, 1,865 mostly career, 5,530 are mostly volunteer and 20,200 are all volunteer. In the U.S., 13,555 or 45% of departments provide EMS service, 4,590 departments or 15% provide EMS service and advance life support, while 12,000 departments or 40% provide no EMS support.according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Paid career firefighter and unpaid volunteers receive nearly identical training.
There is not much difference between a career firefighter or a volunteer. When you go to fight a fire, the fire doesn't know the difference.

Most people join volunteer fire departments for four reasons.
1. Family tradition
2. Local people supporting the community
3. Stepping stone to a career department
4. Necessity (as in Lloyd and Diana Bluntzer)

There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer, and while the Bluntzer Volunteer Fire Department and EMS is small, we have a great sense of community, brotherhood and a drive to "get the job done" no matter what our hurdles. Our goal is to protect and serve our community with whatever resources we can muster.