The Los Chavez Fire Department is an ALL Volunteer company, located in
the heart of Valencia County, New Mexico, between Los Lunas and Belen
on Highway 314.  It was formed in 1962 and Frank Sedillo became the first
Department Chief.  Currently we have 34 volunteers on the roster, most of
whom are certified as NM Firefighter I and EMT-B as a minimum.  The
present day staff consists of:

    Department Chief -- Brian Culp III
    Assistant Chief -- Mike Brophy
    Rescue, (EMS), Captain -- Becky Culp
    Rescue, (EMS), Lieutenant -- Jon Akaba
    Fire Captain -- Tina McCraw
    Fire Lieutenant -- Rodney Barilleaux
    Safety Officer -- Gary McCraw

The area served encompasses approximately half of the county, reaching
the Highland Meadows area to the West, with an estimated population of 
the region around 15,000.  The department also provides Mutual Aid per
agreement with all other departments in the county.  At the present time,
there is only one station, however, future planning exists for a substation
to be located in the Highland Meadows Subdivision, (on highway 6, near
I-40, by Laguna).  This second station will greatly enhance service to our
community resulting in substantially improving our response time.  Due to
the lack of adequate coverage in that area, we are finding that up to 30
minutes in response time can occur... we find this to be unacceptable in
all emergency situations.

The department utilizes two engines, one approximately 10 years old which
carries 1200 gallons of water and the other being 25 years old and carries
750 gallons of water; two tankers with capacities of 4000 and 2000 gallons;
our pride and joy, a brand new Rescue/Aid Unit purchased in August of 1997; 
a Rescue/Squad Unit which carries approximately 300 gallons of 
water, foam supply and MVA rescue tools; and last but not least, our brush
truck, which was a "hand-me-down" from the US Forest Service and is
actively utilzed for the accessibility to brush fire locations.
Annually, LCVFD responds to an estimated 150 calls for fire emergencies
and approximately 300 EMS/Rescue calls.  Fire calls peak twice a year,
during summer with the brush fires and Christmas with structure fires.
Because the personnel are all volunteers, training presents a challenge
due to the limitations and time availability of the individuals.  To
counteract this, the department holds weekly training meetings informally
and formal training dates are always posted for those to take advantage
of them at the department's expense, utilizing the EMS Academy, 
UNM-Valencia and the NM State Fire Acadamy in Socorro. Though limited,
the department  has reached various levels, such as HazMat Level 4, 70%
of members holding EMT-B and 80% with Firefighter I certifications.

Our department, as with all departments around the world, has an
atmosphere and camaraderie which is very personal and "family-like". 
This personal, "family-like" air results in our caring greatly about each
other, and other brothers and sisters in all emergency response services 
and of course our community that we provide service to.  We hold 
"get-togethers" and "pot-lucks" at various times throughout the year and 
actively support, and are associated with, a variety of organizations:

    "MADD"
    "Missing Children"
    "Toys for Tots"
    IFSTA
    OSHA
    Volunteer Fireman's Insurance
    New Mexico Firefighters' Association
    International Association of Fire Chiefs.