About EMFD Fire Department
Our History
Eagle Mountain Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1950 by several local homeowners in our area. Throughout the years, Chief B.G. (Red) Barton lead the volunteer fire force. The department was averaging about 3 to 4 fires a month with a budget of approximately $10,000 annually. These funds were generated from fundraisers such as bake sales, bingo and letter drives.
In 1978, 4 members became Paramedics and the department transformed into an ALS licensed ambulance service with the Texas Department of Health. The department purchased 2 ambulances and served the community with an EMS service staffed by all volunteer personnel. By 1986 the department started paying a Paramedic to be on-call at the rate of $49 for a 12-hour day to assure a Paramedic was always available.
In 1996 Chief "Red" Barton retired and his son, Mike Barton, was elected to take over as the Fire Chief of the department, where he still serves. Soon after, the department began staffing more paid personnel to staff one ambulance 24/7 due to rapid growth of the area. The fire side of the department was still relying on volunteers to respond to fires and accidents.
Since then, the department has steadily grown and today it is funded by the Tarrant County Emergency Services District #1. The department staffs three MICU ambulances with 2 staff members each and has 2 paid firefighters 24/7 to provide fire response. The department logged over 2,000 calls for service in 2023. The operating budget is now over $2 million dollars annually.
administrative team
Mike Barton, Fire Chief, FF/EMT-P
Allen Blakeman, Assistant Chief, EMT-P
Kris Carr, Deputy Chief, FF/EMT-B
Danny Martin, Captain, FF/EMT-P
Gregg Higgins, Captain, FF/EMT-A
Steve Eck, Captain, FF/EMT-P
Matt Borchardt, Lieutenant, FF/EMT-B
Ron Robertson, Lieutenant, FF/EMT-P
Sam Sheets, Lieutenant, FF/EMT-B
Angela Brown, Administrative Assistant, EMT-P
Tarrant county firefighter's association
EMFD Fire Department: Serving Our Community
This letter was written circa 1980 when the Eagle Mountain EMS recieved EMS Unit of the year from the Tarrant County Fire Fighter's Association.
In 1977 a private ambulance company serviced the Eagle Mountain fire district. We had noticed that the service to our area was declining. Then one day there was a major accident on Boat Club road and a person with a severe back injury lay there 45 minutes waiting for an ambulance to arrive. That day we decided it was time to look for an alternate way of providing for our personnel in the event of an accident. At that time our department had a van that was used to carry additional equipment and personnel to the fire scene so we decided to put a box in the van that would hold equipment but also had a pad on it so we could lay somebody on the box and carry them to the hospital. We began sending our people to get emergency medical training and replaced the box with an old stretcher that was given to us. A short time later, the private ambulance serving our area went out of business. The Eagle Mountain Volunteer Fire Department became the Eagle Mountain Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service, the first of its kind in Tarrant County.
As our area grew, so did our Emergency Medical Services. From the van and advanced first aid, to our first basic life support modular ambulance and EMT’s, up to today with two ALS equipped modular ambulances, 7 Paramedics and 8 EMT’s. It is still the only service of its kind in Tarrant County.
At present Eagle Mountain provides ambulance for over 4,000 people as well as portions of the rural area of the surrounding departments. The dedication of this group of volunteers providing for the well being of their community in the past, today and into tomorrow is a fine example of what EMS Unit of the Year should stand for. I may be a little biased but as far as I am concerned, they are one of the best services in Tarrant County.
B.G. Red Barton
Chief
