Santa Fe County Fire Department

The Santa Fe County Fire Department is a combination fire department that integrates both paid staff and the service of dedicated volunteers. Formed in 1997 from the consolidation of 15 volunteer fire districts and the Office of the County Fire Marshal, the SFCFD protects approximately 1900 square miles of unincorporated area as well as the incorporated Village of Edgewood. Within these borders, SFCFD provides protection to approximately 75,000 residents living in 27,500 occupied housing units, as well as several million square feet of commercial development. Santa Fe County is also home to five Pueblos which rely on SFCFD for emergency services.

The department maintains 34 fire stations countywide including four staffed regional stations and one staffed substation, maintaining an extensive inventory of 188 vehicles including fire and EMS response apparatus as well as command and support vehicles.

The fire department is the county’s largest department and the only one that provides an essential service utilizing a largely volunteer labor force. Current daily minimum staffing is more than 20 cross trained/dual role career firefighters supporting approximately 294 volunteer firefighters and medically trained personnel. Career firefighters staff the regional main stations and one substation, while the volunteers are organized and assigned to the 14 fire districts throughout the county.
Commercial and residential development and population growth have increased significantly in several areas of the County during the last several years. In fact, the department is projecting an additional 2.51 million square feet of new commercial development in the next five years, and an additional 8.47 million square feet of new residential development during the same time period.

Besides providing fire and Emergency Medical Services to the residents and visitors of Santa Fe County, the department also provides mutual aid for fire, EMS, and rescue services to the City of Santa Fe Fire Department, Los Alamos County Fire Department, Sandoval County, Bernalillo County, Rio Arriba County, Torrance County and additional smaller fire districts outside of the jurisdictional boundaries. The department operates the County of Santa Fe Emergency Management program, and supports and houses the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center.


The department protects an extensive wildland urban interface as well as critical infrastructure that include the following:
• Santa Fe Municipal Watershed and treatment facility.
• Buckman Direct Diversion Regional Water Project.
• interstate rail and highway corridors.
• petroleum and natural gas pipelines.
• New Mexico Emergency Operations Center.
• National Guard Facility.
• numerous state and federal facilities, and
• electrical transmission facilities.