History of Blanco County ESD 2
Blanco County Emergency Services District (ESD) No. 2, was formed in May 1999 and serves the south portion of Blanco County and other areas outside the county for mutual aid.
Emergency Service Districts are local political subdivisions of the State of Texas that may provide Fire, Rescue, EMS and other emergency services. They are formed by citizens who must request, by petition, an election to form the ESD and are primarily funded by an ad valorem (property) tax that, under State Statute, cannot exceed $0.10 per $100 of property valuation (a $100,000 home pays $100 a year for Fire & EMS services.) The annual budget in 2018 was funded 71% by taxes, 12% by EMS billing, 2% Donations, 5% Mail-out Fund Drive, 8% Fire Fee for Service, 8% Surplus sales, and 1% Other. Blanco County ESDs are governed by a Board of Five Commissioners, appointed by the County Commissioners Court. Blanco County ESD No. 2, depends on citizen donations, in addition to property and sales taxes, to offer advanced life support services and fire suppression 24/7.
Personnel
Blanco ESD2 is fortunate to have well-trained, dedicated personnel for our operations. We have 8 full-time employees which include a full-time Fire Chief and an EMS Chief that we cost share with the Blanco County ESD No. 1. We operate one ambulance, except during major events. Our Fire Department is Texas Commission on Fire Protection Certified and is certified as a First Responder Organization with the Department of State Health Services. Ambulance service is Advanced Life Support (paramedic) level. There are currently 17 Volunteer Firefighters, 12 part-time EMTs, and 1 part-time administrative assistant.
Operations
Fires/Rescues: In 2018 we had a total of 66 fires which included 11 structure fires, 9 vehicle fires, 46 vegetation fires which burned about 78 acres. We responded to 146 motor vehicle accidents.
EMS: We respond to a very large range of calls, with our highest call types being Traffic Accidents, Cardiac Emergencies and Falls. We frequently respond to land and water rescues. In 2018 we had over 1,000 EMS responses.