Paid fire departments in El Paso County not in near future

The thought of having firefighters on standby has been on the minds of many residents in the El Paso County for years, but after a fire leveled a home Monday in Horizon, some residents are demanding answers as to why it hasn't happened.

It was Jonathan Avila's 16th birthday when a fire gutted his Horizon home. His biggest concern was how long it took for volunteer firefighters to get there.

"They didn't get out here until 9:30 a.m." said Avila, who said the fire started about 8 a.m.

Ron Larson, a volunteer firefighter in Horizon, said it usually takes about 16 minutes for volunteer firefighters to respond to a fire in the county.

"Everybody's a volunteer, so a lot of guys are at work. We're very short during the day," Larson said after Monday's fire. "They all have to come here and get the truck and leave from here."

The El Paso Fire Department said it only takes its firefighters four minutes or less to get to a fire, and that's the main difference between El Paso firefighters and volunteers.

"The equipment, training, and a lot of what they depend on are funded through taxpayers," said El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar.

Escobar said she hasn't received that many complaints about volunteer fire department response times during her time as county judge, but that doesn't mean the commissioners court isn't looking at public safety. She did say that an El Paso County fire department would mean a tax hike.

"There would be triple taxation in some cases," said Escobar.

That's because it could potentially include all of El Paso County, and she said 70 percent of the population lives within city limits.

"They would be paying for their municipal fire department and salaries that would have nothing to do with their jurisdiction," she said.

Escobar said it is possible to tax only county residents, but they are already paying taxes to the Emergency Services District.

"I think 10 cents per $100 is a lot, and it buys a lot of equipment and training," said Escobar.

"Would you be willing to pay more in taxes to have firefighters on standby, waiting for that 911 call," KFOX 14 asked Socorro resident Adriana Ramirez.

"I don't know. I guess, if that makes them work faster," said Ramirez.

Escobar admitted she'd like to see the money better spent, and that's why commissioners are looking to appoint board members to the ESD that have a variety if backgrounds -- not just firefighters. But (who?) said that in the end, the efforts of the heroic volunteers pay off.

"They do get some pretty hefty retirements," said Escobar.

She said there is a way to pay the volunteers. She said they could go to the ESD board and tell it they are willing to give that retirement up.

"'We'd rather get paid now, and we'd like for some of that tax money that you get be allocated for salaries," said Escobar.

Escobar said in the coming weeks, Commissioners Court will be having interviews for the Emergency Services District board member openings and should be appointing them by mid-February.