Greetings!
Thank you for visiting the Jarrell Fire Department/ Williamson Count Emergency Services District No. 5 Facebook page! Williamson County ESD 5 provides fire, rescue, and emergency medical service to 75 square miles of north Williamson County, Texas which includes the City of Jarrell, the Sonterra Community, Live Oak, Green Acres and Corn Hill communities as well as thousands of acres of farmland, quarries, and industrial business'. The district also covers a 13 mile strech of the IH-35 corridor.
The district is covered out of a single station which is staffed with two career fire fighters who respond to all alarms in the district. ESD 5 is fortunate enough to have a small group of dedicated volunteer firemen as well that will also respond to emergencies as well when they are available. Each of our Volunteers dedicate 40 hours per month to “Duty Time” in the station as well as regular training hours. When volunteers are not available due to personal work schedules the average number of responders to any given emergency is two fire fighters.
The district is funded by a property tax of 10 cents per $100 of appraised property value. For example, a property that is valued at $100,000 will provide $100 per year to the district. The tax base for the 2014/2015 fiscal year is approximately $389,000. These funds are used to pay employees, make building payments, provide necessary insurance including workers compensation, pay utilities, provide training, repair and fuel vehicles, and provide proper protective gear and firefighting tools.
As you can imagine, the district is challenged to cover a large area and thousands of individuals with few resources. The District endeavors to be frugal, creative and prudent with taxpayer money. With the growth that is occurring in the area comes a growth in call volume which is projected to increase more as population density increases. The occurrence of receiving more than one call for services at the same time is increasing. So far the District has been able to respond to every call for assistance, although sometimes with only one fire fighter.
The District is governed by a 5 member board of commissioners that meet monthly to ensure proper fiscal oversight of the taxpayer money.
We the employees and volunteers of Jarrell Fire Department/ ESD 5 are proud to be your public servants that are willing to give our very best to those that call for assistance. We are thankful for the support of the residents and business owners in our district.
