Heber-Overgaard Fire Protection District

Heber and Overgaard are both unincorporated areas. The fire department was established in 1973 and is funded through a district tax that levies 1.23 mils on property values. The Heber-Overgaard (H-O) Fire District has 12 full time and 30 part time firefighters and provides protection for more than 4,000 people over 102 square miles. All the firefighters are certified in wildland firefighting. Heber-Overgaard Fire Chief Jack Ingraham is new to the job and area. He took up the posting in January 2004. He is aware that H-O had received minimal funding through the National Fire Plan in the past. He plans to actively pursue new funding and has acquired more than $500,000 since his arrival. For instance, H-O just received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for a new fire engine, as well as funding for cost-sharing to help homeowners to thin their property. As observed by Bruce Banke of Arizona State Lands the previous Fire Chief was not requesting funding. "[Ingraham] is a lot more proactive than the other chief was."

The H-O Fire Protection District is promoting Firewise programs in the schools and starting a National Safety Council fire prevention program that school children can take. A National Safety Week will take place in October 2004. According to Ingraham, "You get a lot better parent participation when you do it through the school. We're using different materials that we can send home with the kids to hopefully get he parents more involved." They will do a mass mailing out to all the businesses and targeted groups in the area the then make sure everything is delivered for the programs in the schools.

Wildfire Response in H-O

The Heber-Overgaard Fire Protection District has mutual aid agreements with the Northern Arizona Fire Departments for suppression needs. They have a contract with State Lands regarding suppression and have a verbal agreement with USFS for mutual aid. If a fire happens within a fire district and it gets beyond the scope of the fire department handling it, they will request assistance from their neighboring fire district, the State or the USFS. A mutual aid request from a neighboring fire district means the neighbor will come in on a gratis basis and offer help under a written agreement that stipulates 12 hours or 24 hours of assistance. If that becomes insufficient, the State is usually called in. If the State is called in they will provide whatever resources are necessary to fight the fire, and the State pays. There is a Joint Powers Operating Plan between the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and the State. This outlines mutual aid agreements and different agency responsibilities between the State and USFS.

Northern Arizona Fire Chief's Association

The Northern Arizona Fire Chiefs' Association meets monthly to discuss fire suppression efforts and hazardous fuel reduction activities. Suppression is coordinated through discussions between the fire chiefs and the USFS Fire Management Officers. They meet monthly in the winter and early spring at different fire departments. In the spring they have a coordination meeting to share information about resources and radio frequency changes.