Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1

Mission

It is the mission of Brewster County Emergency Services District Number One to provide partial funding through tax revenue dedicated to the protection of lives and property in the District against fire, medical emergencies, and accidental exposure to hazardous materials. It is the goal of the ESD to carry out this mission by facilitating the availability of non-profit emergency medical and fire service to all residents of, persons traveling through, or visitors to the District.

Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1 is a political subdivision of the State of Texas formed pursuant to Chapter 776 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. Distinctions between ESDs organized under Chapter 775 and Chapter 776 were eliminated. Chapter 776 of the Health and Safety Code (for ESDs in counties of 125,000 or less) was repealed, and all ESDs are operating under Chapter 775.

See Our Members

Board Meetings

Our meetings are scheduled on the third Monday of each month. They begin at 4:30 P.M. and are held at the meeting room in the South Brewster County Resource Center located at 23250 FM 170, Terlingua, Texas 79852.

Read the Minutes

Contracted Services

ESDs provide services in a variety of ways. Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1 chose to contract with an independent service provider, Terlingua Fire & EMS, Inc., to provide Fire protection and Emergency Medical Services within the boundaries of the Emergency Services District.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS

In the performance of the Agreement between Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1 (ESD) and Terlingua Fire & EMS, Inc. (Provider), it is agreed that the Provider is, and at all times shall be, an independent contractor and not an agent of the ESD.

Our History

In May, 2003, the South Brewster County community was at a crossroad. Terlingua, Lajitas, Study Butte, and Terlingua Ranch found themselves without emergency medical services when the head Terlingua medic took three months accrued vacation time leaving an unexpected void and a notice was posted on local community bulletin boards announcing, “Volunteer staff, when available, will provide basic ambulance coverage only.” And, “There will be periods of time when no ambulance is available from Terlingua Medics.” Loss of this service and the fire that destroyed the kitchen at the Ocotillo Restaurant in Lajitas a few weeks before was a wake-up call for the community and prompted the formation of a steering committee. Its function was to look into ways to come up with funding and a plan to guarantee sustainable emergency services – medic and fire. Creating an Emergency Services District was one of the ways to go about it.

On June 23, 2003, the committee petitioned the Brewster County Commissioners Court to call for a public hearing for the creation of an emergency services district to provide emergency medical and fire protection in South Brewster County. On July 31, 2003, it was established that the creation of the ESD and sales tax rate would be placed on the Ballot for the Election to be held September 13, 2003. The votes were canvassed on September 16, 2003, and Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1 and Tax Rate was approved by the voters. On September 23, 2003, a resolution was adopted by the Brewster County Commissioners Court authorizing the creation of the District. When the local sales and use tax went into effect on April 1, 2004, Brewster County Emergency Services District No. 1 became the 82nd special purpose district in the State of Texas allocation system.