Welcome, and thank you for visiting the Animas Vol. Fire & Rescue Department website. The Animas Vol. Fire & Rescue Department is comprised of three districts, District 1 (Animas Valley), District 2 (Playas Valley) and District 3 (Hachita Valley).
The Animas Vol. Fire & Rescue Department District 1, is the oldest county fire department in Hidalgo County and was organized in 1973 and officially founded on January 15, 1975, by the citizens of Animas to provide fire protection for the community. The station was built June 1, 1979, and had a two bay addition built in 1998.
District 2 was originally organized and founded as the Playas Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department on June 11, 1985. On October 3, 2021, the Animas Vol. Fire & Rescue Dept was asked to operate the Playas Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department. On July 12, 2022, the Hidalgo County Board of Commissioners passed Resolution 34-2022 consolidating the Playas Volunteer Fire & Rescue and the Animas Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department , making the Playas Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department the Animas Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department Station 2.
Station 3 became part of the Animas Fire & Rescue Department after an Intergovernmental Agreement between Grant & Hidalgo Counties was approved by the respective County Commissioners on January 10, 2024. After approval from the NM State Fire Marshal, the station was officially transitioned under the command of Animas Fire & Rescue on May 10, 2024. The Animas Fire District protects 992 people (USPS). Station 1 is located in the town of Animas in Hidalgo County, 25 miles south of I-10. Station 2 is in the community of Windmill, 12 miles east of Animas. Station 3 is located in the town of Hachita in Grant County, 19 miles south of I-10 and 30 miles east of Animas. All stations provide combined coverage to over 2,000 square miles comprising 1,604,702 +/- acres of Private, State, BLM and National Forest Lands.
Our capabilities range from structural protection, wildland and urban interface, rescue and public education. We provide automatic aid for Cotton City Vol. Fire Dept. as well as provide mutual aid to the Rodeo Vol. Fire Dept. We are completely state funded by the NM State Fire Marshal's Office.
Throughout this website you will find information about the programs and services offered by the Animas Vol. Fire & Rescue Department. You will find listings of our physical and e-mail addresses as well as telephone numbers throughout the site. We encourage you to contact us if there is any information you desire.
We hope this site will introduce you to who we are and what we do. Our goal is to protect the citizens and property of the Animas, Playas & Hachita Valleys.