Balcones Heights Citizens at one time were furnished Fire Protection by the City of San Antonio on a fee basis. When the city raised its fee, the City of Balcones Heights resorted to Bexar County for Fire Protection.

In 1954 the county reported that under state law it was not required to serve municipalities on an ongoing basis. On November 12th of 1954 the City of Balcones under the leadership of John Caran organized its own 25 member Volunteer Fire Department. Many of the Volunteers were Kelly Air Force Base Firefighters who lived nearby. Fund raising and public donations financed a concrete-block building for the fire Department at 107 Glenarm.

The fire Department is now housed at 111 Altgelt. The department utilizes 2 new Pumpers and a 75' aerial device that was refurbished in 1993. The fire Department also has a 1997 Surburban that is utilized for emergency medical responses. Recently the fire Department received one of the older model Police Vehicles that is being utilized by the fire Marshal when dealing with Fire Inspections or with Code compliance issues.

The Fire Department serves approximately 1 square mile and has mutual agreements with several neighboring cities.

The services that we provide to the citizens of Balcones Heights and those visiting our city include the following:

• 1st responder service
• Fire Protection
• Fire Prevention and rescue
• We Demonstrate the proper techniques of fire safety and fire prevention as well as the proper use of the enhanced 911 system at the various schools in our district to teach children the things that they need to use in the event of an emergency. Businesses in our jurisdiction often call on us to demonstrate the proper handling and use of fire extinguishers to their employees, and to talk with them about fire safety and fire prevention.

Our primary service is to the citizens and the businesses of Balcones and we strive to give the best customer service available to them.