Neighbors Serving Neighbors
La Madera Fire & Rescue | District 4, Station 49
La Madera Fire & Rescue is part of Sandoval County Fire & Rescue, serving the county’s East Mountain communities from our station in Sandia Park, New Mexico. Our volunteers train, prepare, and respond to help protect the people and places we call home.
We serve a rural landscape of homes, open space, and mountain terrain. That setting shapes our work, from responding to fires and medical emergencies to helping neighbors prepare for wildfire.
The Communities We Serve
Our local communities include La Madera and Canyon Madera, Skyline Estates, San Pedro Creek Estates, San Pedro Overlook, and residents along Puertocito Road, in the surrounding Sandia Park area.
As part of the county fire and rescue system, we work with other stations and partner agencies when incidents require additional personnel, equipment, or specialized support.
How We Serve
- Fire response: Responding to structure, vehicle, and wildland fires as part of Sandoval County Fire & Rescue.
- Emergency medical response: Providing emergency care within our members’ training and qualifications and working with responding EMS resources.
- Wildfire preparedness: Helping residents understand defensible space, access for responders, and evacuation planning.
- Prevention and education: Sharing practical fire-safety information and helping our neighbors prepare before an emergency.
Visit our Services page and fire-safety articles to learn more.
A Place to Serve Your Community
Our members bring their time, skills, and commitment to the department alongside work, family, and other responsibilities. Training, equipment readiness, and teamwork are part of the service behind every response.
We welcome people interested in firefighting, emergency medical service, and support roles. Your interests, availability, qualifications, and the department’s needs help determine how you can contribute.
Explore volunteering with La Madera or contact us to start the conversation.
Supported by Our Neighbors
The Tecolote Auxiliary has played an important role in La Madera’s history. Community fundraising and volunteer effort have helped provide equipment, improve facilities, and support the people who respond to emergencies.
We are grateful to the Auxiliary, our members’ families, and the residents whose support helps sustain this work.
Our History
La Madera grew from a community effort to bring fire protection closer to home. These milestones summarize the department’s historical account through 2017. Equipment descriptions and quantities below refer to that period.
1995–1998: Establishing the department
After a fire destroyed Richard Gibbs’s home and in-home restaurant, Gibbs and Sandoval County Fire Marshal Clark “Sparkie” Speakman worked with the Campbell Ranch developer to secure land for a fire station. On December 21, 1995, Sandoval County commissioners passed Resolution 12-21-95-9B creating the La Madera Volunteer Fire Department.
The 5.11-acre station parcel in Phase III of San Pedro Creek Estates was recorded in the county’s name in 1997. A heated, three-bay station was built that year and later finished with a meeting room, kitchen, bathrooms, and office.
Early apparatus included a 1966 International pumper and a 1972 water tender. Community support helped purchase a 1998 GMC engine. Following a State Fire Marshal inspection, the department began its probationary year in 1998, the operational beginning described in the department’s history.
1998–2000: Improving access and organization
Access between La Madera and San Pedro Creek Estates was an early challenge for responding volunteers. Discussions among residents, the homeowners association, and fire officials led to an agreement for an automatic gate at Via Entrada and access for department members. A fire chief was elected in 2000.
2001–2005: Expanding medical and fire response
A Ford F-350 brush apparatus was added in 2001. In 2002, Paul Bearce taught an EMS First Responder course for local members, followed by an EMT-Basic bridge course. Twelve members became licensed EMT-Basics in 2003, and a rescue vehicle supported the department’s growing medical-response capability.
During this period, community volunteers formed the Tecolote Auxiliary. A Bureau of Land Management grant helped equip a wildland-support trailer. The department became part of the county fire district system in the early 2000s, and ten members completed Firefighter I training in 2004. Water-storage improvements at the station and within San Pedro Creek Estates strengthened local firefighting resources.
2006–2013: Building capacity
A rescue bay was added to the station in 2006. Two members completed Firefighter II training in 2007. A replacement rescue vehicle and a 3,000-gallon water tender followed in 2008.
The Tecolote Auxiliary helped provide EMS and CPR-training equipment. Members offered CPR and first-aid education, and the department expanded its wildland and wildland-urban interface training beginning around 2013.
2014–2017: Supporting missions at home and beyond
The Auxiliary funded a replacement water tank for Brush 28 in 2014. In 2015, La Madera members joined other Sandoval County firefighters on a California wildland deployment, supporting operations in the Eldorado National Forest and the Lake Tahoe area.
Community and county support, along with a grant from the Edgewood Soil & Water Conservation District, also helped install additional water storage and a hydrant at the station. By the time the department’s 2017 history was written, volunteers had developed substantial fire, EMS, and wildland-response capabilities.
Today, we carry that community commitment forward as La Madera Fire & Rescue, District 4, Station 49.
Find Us and Stay Connected
Station 49
826 Faith Drive
Sandia Park, NM 87047
For emergencies, call 911.
For general questions, email contact@lamaderafire.org or visit our Contact page.