New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 10 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT › Chapter 25 - STATE FIRE MARSHAL › Part 10 - FIRE PROTECTION FUND › Section 10.25.10.11 - CRITERIA FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, CERTIFICATION AND FUNDING OF NEW DEPARTMENTS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
				Establishment of a new department. The following actions are to be taken in the
				order listed.
(1) Local government shall
				request from the fire marshal an onsite visit of the proposed response area to
				determine the feasibility of starting a new department.
(2) If the fire marshal determines that
				starting a new fire department is feasible, the citizens of the community, or
				communities, shall organize the new fire department. To achieve an
				operational/functional status, the department shall have sufficient membership
				to ensure the response of at least four trained members to fires in structures.
				To meet this minimum number, the department should have at least 12 adults
				willing and able to volunteer their services as firefighters.
(3) The local government shall identify water
				sources within the proposed response area. Ideally, all single point water
				sources should have a minimum of 30,000 gallons of water usable for
				suppression. The local government shall obtain written permission from property
				owners in which they agree to allow the fire department to use private water
				sources.
(4) The citizens shall
				petition the local government to establish the fire department by appropriate
				resolution. The resolution shall contain a legal description of the response
				area boundaries by section, township, and range.
(5) The local government shall submit to the
				fire marshal two copies of the resolution along with two clear and concise maps
				depicting the boundaries of the response area. The maps should be of a scale
				that clearly depicts the district and identifies the range and township. The
				preferred scale is one inch equals two miles. The district boundaries should be
				clearly outlined. Boundaries shall include additional areas to be serviced
				within an adjacent municipality or county if such additional coverage has been
				designated by resolution or law. All sources of water for firefighting within
				the boundaries shall be clearly indicated on the map. An additional copy of the
				resolution and map should be:
(a) on file with
				the local government;
(b) on file
				with the fire department (a copy of the map should be posted).
(6) Upon successful completion of
				Paragraphs (1) through (5), the fire marshal shall place the new department on
				probation for one year. The fire department's one-year probation period shall
				start no earlier than the date of the local government resolution.
(7) The local government shall obtain
				essential firefighting equipment and personal protective equipment.
(8) As a minimum, the local government shall
				obtain an operational apparatus meeting the general criteria for an initial
				attack or pumper apparatus. A waiver may be granted by the fire marshal for an
				apparatus not meeting this requirement. The request for a waiver shall include
				a detailed plan that establishes how this requirement is to be eventually
				met.
(9) The apparatus shall be
				housed to provide adequate protection. The structure should be owned or leased
				to the local government. However, while on probation other arrangements
				approved by the local government are acceptable.