Public Info

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 The Williamson Valley Fire District is governed by the Williamson Valley Fire District Board of Directors. Our Board is comprised of five, non-partisan Board members who are elected by registered voters who reside within the District. Each member serves a staggered, four year term so that no more than three terms expire in any given year.  The Governing Board meets at 6:30 PM on the third Monday of each month. 

Determine if your property is in the Williamson Valley Fire District Fire District  by contacting a member of our staff at 928-717-2304.

Sign a letter that will be provided by the WVFD annexation team. This letter will either need to be notarized by one of our in-house notaries or another notary of your choosing.

After the original, notarized letter has been received by our annexation team, the Williamson Valley Fire District annexation process begins. A resolution, along with additional documents (map, property description, etc.), will be presented at the following scheduled Fire Board meeting. After approval, the annexation packet will be forwarded to 9-1-1 dispatch center and the Recorder’s Office. The newly annexed property’s address is entered into the 911 system and service typically begins within 30 days.

Depending on the time frame of when an annexation is entered onto the tax rolls, you may not see an impact on your property tax bill for up to 2 years. 

 We stand ready to defend life, homes, businesses, and property from a variety of hazards. Our responders receive consistent and specialized training that includes advanced emergency medical procedures, technical rescue and hazardous materials in addition to fire suppression and incident command. We also integrate technology where it makes sense into our operations. We continually assess the risks in our community and prepare our responses to match them from ten strategically placed fire stations throughout the District. 

STEP 1: First, go online to http://gis.yavapai.us/v4/ and search for your property’s Limited Assessed amount by entering your name, address or parcel number in the site’s Quick Search tile.

STEP 2: Divide the Limited Assessed amount by 100 yielding the Net Taxable Amount.

STEP 3: Multiply the Net Taxable Amount by the District’s current combined Operations rate of $2.65 (the Williamson Valley Fire District tax rate since the 2017-2018 tax year) to obtain the Annual taxes due to the District for your specific property. 

Example – using a single family residential property in the Hootenanny Holler Limited Assessed:  $14,101 / 100 = $141 Annual Taxes Due to the District: $141 * 2.65 = $373.65 

The Fire District Assistance Tax (or FDAT), which appears on your annual property tax bill, can be a source of confusion when it comes to receiving emergency services at your address. Property owners often assume that by paying an FDAT, they have fire and emergency medical service protection at their property. This assumption, however, is inaccurate. The FDAT provides for rescue services on any highway, street, or roadway within the State of Arizona. FDAT revenues are shared by all Arizona fire districts to assist with the cost of emergency rescue services outside established fire district boundaries. An FDAT fee is NOT the same as annexing into a fire district to receive emergency and preventative services at your property. These are two separate line items on your annual tax bill for two distinctly different types of emergency service responses. 

A fire district is a political subdivision of the State, formed for the protection of persons and property in an area approved by the county (Arizona Revised Statues – Title 48- Special Taxing Districts). Arizona fire districts are governed by three or five-member boards, based on the population of the district, and elected at large by the registered voters of the district. Board members are elected to alternating four-year terms. Fire districts exist solely to address fire and medical emergency response as well as prevention programs. Fire departments are part of a municipal government and are funded through the city’s general fund revenues derived from sales tax, state shared revenues, and property taxes. They are overseen by the same municipal council that oversees all city departments; thus subject to budget appropriations potentially impacted by other department needs not specific to fire and medical emergency response, or prevention programs.

Time is of the essence in an emergency. The closer a fire station is to your home, the faster help will arrive. In fact, it’s the single most critical factor in a positive outcome for a medical, rescue or fire emergency. WVFD’s stations are strategically located throughout the District to ensure help arrives as quickly as possible. The location of each fire station is based on an assessment of our community’s specific risks, call loads and types, and areas that offer rapid responses to handle these identified risks. This is an ongoing assessment

Ratings range on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best rating. A lower ISO rating is achieved by upgrading a community’s fire prevention and suppression capabilities, specifically in the categories of dispatch, water supply, and fire suppression. In short, better prevention efforts and response capabilities can lower insurance premiums. WVFD’s current ISO rating is a split rating of 3/10. The first number (3) refers to the classification of properties within 5 road miles of a fire station and 1,000 feet of a hydrant. The second number (10) refers to properties greater 5 road miles of a fire station. WVFD utilizes water tenders which carry close to 3,000 gallons of water, and/or may deploy a water shuttle operation requiring multiple water tenders. In order to qualify for this rating, WVFD firefighters work very hard in training to achieve the standards required by ISO. There are approximately 46,000 fire departments in the country with an ISO rating, less than 16% of which are rated as a 3 or lower. For more information regarding the ISO Public Protection Program, go to www.isomitigation.com. 

There are two basic levels of pre-hospital medical personnel who respond in an emergency: Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) provide basic life support and Paramedics provide a higher level of care through advanced life support. In an emergency, you want someone capable of providing advanced life support and you need them to arrive quickly to begin and continue treatment en route to the hospital.At the Williamson Valley Fire District, every engine and rescue unit in the District has a paramedic onboard to ensure the highest level of medical care with the first arriving emergency unit. Similar to the location of our fire stations, response units are placed based on an assessment of our community’s risks, call loads, and types. The goal is to respond quickly and at the level of care each call requires for the best outcome for our patients. 

Different fire districts provide a variety of programs and services to the community they serve. It’s important to know what resources are available through a fire district. In addition to fire/medical responses and transports, WVFD also operates dedicated Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue teams. Non-emergency services include smoke detector battery replacement, fall assist, and a Community Assistance Program to aid families after a traumatic event (fire or medically-related). The Williamson Valley Fire District also offers several fire prevention services including code enforcement and safety education classes
on a variety of topics from babysitting basics to hands-only CPR. Specific classes are available at WVFD.Net for review at any time.