Doña Ana County commissioners vote to close volunteer Station 33 in Garfield

Doña Ana County commissioners voted to close volunteer Station 33 in Garfield after county officials told the board the station "has not been staffed or responding to calls for a couple years now," a reporter summarizing the meeting said.

Why it matters: County officials argued that keeping an inactive station could raise the county's ISO rating, which the report said could affect homeowners' insurance rates and department funding. The county framed the closure as a measure to protect insurance costs and funding for emergency services.

What the board decided: The commissioners voted to close Station 33. The report states that emergency response in the area will continue "without any interruption" from the same crew serving out of Rincon, but the transcript does not provide a timetable for when the station will be vacated, nor does it include a vote tally or the exact motion text.

Statements in the meeting: A reporter summarizing the session said, "The volunteer station in Garfield has not been staffed or responding to calls for a couple years now, which is why commissioners voted to go ahead and close Station 33." The same summary added that "emergency response will continue without any interruption in that area from the same crew that's been serving you out in Rincon." Those claims were presented as the board's stated rationale in the meeting recording; the transcript contains no recorded opposition or alternate plan details.

What’s unclear or not specified: The transcript does not identify who moved or seconded the motion, the vote count, the effective date of closure, or whether any property, equipment, or personnel reassignment steps were approved. The length of the station's inactivity was described as "a couple years" in the recap; that timeframe was not quantified further in the transcript.

Next steps: The reporter directed listeners to the full meeting video on YouTube for additional details.