El Paso Fire Department Named Best In The USA

The El Paso Fire Department earned a new ranking from the Insurance Services Office placing it among the most elite fire departments in the USA.

Our local heroes have earned a very prestigious classification which pushes them to the top of the heap nationally - an ISO Class 1 rating.

This is a BIG deal, not easily earned and the El Paso Fire Departments deserves a ton of appreciation and respect ... like they didn't already ... for having gotten it. Congrats EPFD.

READ MORE: El Paso's Most Destructive Fires

According to an article on Yahoo, ISO Class 1 is the highest rating a fire department can earn from ISO. There are over 300,000 fire departments across the country and fewer than 1% of them hold this rating. Not too shabby EPFD.

El Paso Fire also continues to maintain international accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence’s Commission on Fire Accreditation International, a distinction held by only 334 agencies worldwide. Only 12 fire departments in the country serving populations over 500,000 hold both recognitions, the City said. - yahoo

There may not always be a fire to put out but, in addition to safety inspections, maintaining their equipment, training and answering non-fire related medical calls; they still find things to do ...

Out in front of the whole world or quietly in the background, the men and women of the El Paso Fire Department impact and/or save the lives of El Pasoans daily.

How Old Is EPFD?

EPFD, first established in 1882, has been serving El Paso for 144 years. Following a major fire in 1881, a volunteer fire department was formed. It became a fully paid department in 1909 and now operates 34 stations.

Volunteer Fire Departments

Gallery Credit: Randy Bogden

First Responders with Amazing 9/11 Tribute in Texas

Members of Mineola FD, Alba FD, and Mineola PD gathered to participate in our local 9/11 stair climb. This morning, they climbed the equivalent of 2,071 stairs, the number of stairs that would have been climbed had the towers not collapsed. This is done to remember the 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers killed that day.

Gallery Credit: Billy Jenkins