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Commissioners approve Enchanted Circle regional fire protection memorandum of agreement
Summary
Taos County approved a memorandum of agreement to formalize mutual aid among Enchanted Circle fire departments; county fire chief said the agreement improves automatic aid, resource sharing and ISO ratings.
Taos County commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement to create the Enchanted Circle Regional Fire Protection Association, formalizing automatic aid and mutual‑aid responses among local fire departments.
A county fire chief described the agreement as a mechanism for "move up and cover and also a first alarm," explaining the practical benefits in automatic dispatch for structure fires and how shared resources can improve insurance‑rating ISO scores.
The chief used the village of Cuesta (Cuesta) as an example: when paged for a structure fire, a first‑alarm dispatch under the agreement would simultaneously page neighboring departments including La Lama, Latir, Cerro and Red River. "What that actually does is actually improves everybody's ISO because it's automatic aid," the chief said, adding the arrangement lets departments receive credit for using other agencies’ engines, pump capacity and water tenders.
According to the presentation, the association’s mutual aid also provides water‑tender resources across the county and helped some districts reduce ISO ratings from 9 to 4. Commissioners asked about meeting frequency; the chief said member agencies meet the first Monday of each month.
A motion to approve the memorandum of agreement passed on a voice vote recorded as unanimous.
