Southern Valley Fire & Rescue

What Southern Valley Fire & Rescue does

Southern Valley Fire & Rescue is a publicly funded combination fire protection district headquartered in Horace, North Dakota, serving 10+ communities in Cass County including Briarwood, Horace, Hickson, Oxbow, Wild Rice, Prairie Rose, Frontier, St. Benedict, and surrounding townships. The department provides 24/7 fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, vehicle and farm accident extrication, fire inspections and permits, and an extensive Community Risk Reduction education program covering fire escape planning, lithium-ion battery safety, electric vehicle hazard mitigation, youth firesetting prevention, and home fire sprinklers. It operates two stations (Horace and Hickson) with a fleet including engines, a tower/ladder truck, pumper trucks, grass rigs, and tenders, and is staffed by 33 members across full-time, part-time, and volunteer roles holding multi-tier certifications (CPR, Firefighter I/II, HazMat Operations, EMR/EMT/Paramedic).

The department is governed by an elected Board of Trustees and funded primarily through property taxes assessed within its response district, with no direct charge for emergency services to residents. Ancillary operations include a publicly available training catalog (CPR, fire extinguisher, fall prevention, smoke alarm testing, child safety camp) and an Event Center rental facility at the Horace station. The organization was formerly known as the Horace Rural Fire Protection District before rebranding to reflect its broader multi-community service area, and it coordinates with Cass County, the National Weather Service, and mutual aid partner departments on regional emergency response and burn restriction policies.

Name

Southern Valley Fire & Rescue

Legal name

Southern Valley Fire & Rescue

Website

https://horacefire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Southern Valley Fire & Rescue is a publicly funded combination fire department in Horace, North Dakota, providing fire suppression, EMS, hazmat response, inspections, and community risk reduction education to 10+ communities across Cass County, funded by property taxes and staffed by 33 members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fire Protection and Emergency Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Fire Protection (922160)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire & Rescue Services (Fire Suppression, Rescue) (BPAIAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Safety Administration (Fire/EMS, Emergency Management) (BPAIACAL), Fire & Life Safety Services (Inspection/Testing/Sprinklers/Alarms) (IMAIAAAI)

Keywords

• Fire protection services
• Emergency medical response
• Fire suppression services
• Community risk reduction
• Hazardous materials response

Headquarters

HQ city

Horace, North Dakota

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Funding: Publicly funded through taxes assessed on all property in the response district. This is the primary funding mechanism for the fire protection district.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southern Valley Fire & Rescue is a publicly funded combination fire and emergency services department that provides 24/7 fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMR/EMT/Paramedic), vehicle extrication, hazardous materials response, and farm accident response across 10+ communities in Cass County, North Dakota. The organization also conducts fire inspections, issues permits, and delivers community risk reduction education including fire prevention programs, smoke alarm distribution, and youth firesetting prevention.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fire and Emergency Response Services Fire suppression, light rescue operations, hazardous materials incidents, medical calls, vehicle accidents, and farm accident response for Briarwood, Horace, Hickson, Oxbow, Wild Rice, Prairie Rose, Frontier, St. Benedict, and surrounding townships in Cass County, ND. Services are dispatched via 911.
• Fire Prevention Education Programs Community risk reduction education covering fire escape planning, fire extinguisher facts, smoke alarm safety, carbon monoxide safety, cooking safety, electrical safety, lithium-ion battery safety, candle safety, winter storm safety, and youth firesetting prevention.
• Fire Inspection Services Existing building annual inspections, construction permits, operational permits, and ND Occupational Safety & Health Program inspections for commercial and residential properties within the response district.
• Horace Event Center Rental Event center facility available for rental for community special events, managed by the department.
• Firefighter and Public Safety Training Programs Training offerings including CPR certification, fire extinguisher training, fall prevention, smoke/CO testing, child safety camp, kitchen safety, fire escape planning, youth firesetting education, lithium-ion battery safety, fire safety group presentations, EMS group presentations, station tours, career fairs, and home safety surveys.
• Community Safety Programs Programs including smoke alarm requests, carbon monoxide alarm requests, home fire safety surveys, adult foster home program information, residential daycare information, and home fire sprinkler education.

Quantifiable outcome

• 342 calls handled in 2025, up from 228 in 2022 (50% increase)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supporting.

• Cass County Board of CommissionerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCass County Board declared fire emergency and enacted burn restrictions through November 30, 2026 due to dry vegetation conditions. SVFR operates under county emergency management coordination.
• Mutual Aid Partner Fire DepartmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides and receives mutual aid emergency response to and from several other fire departments in the region for expanded coverage during major incidents.
• National Weather ServicecoreTechnology or IntegrationMonitors Red Flag Warnings issued by National Weather Service for fire danger ratings. SVFR burn restrictions are triggered when NWS issues Red Flag Warnings.
• State Emergency Operations PlanmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStatewide fire emergency declared by Governor Armstrong activated State Emergency Operations Plan. SVFR coordinates with state, local, tribal, and federal partners.
• ND Occupational Safety & Health Program (Bismarck State College)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree occupational safety program for businesses, with SVFR providing information about this resource to the community through its website.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mapleton Fire Department: Combination fire department serving Mapleton and surrounding rural area in Cass County. Comparable scale, service mix, and rural community-based funding model.
• Reiles Acres Fire Department: Community fire department serving the Reiles Acres suburb of Fargo. Comparable as a small combination department covering a growing suburban community in the Fargo metro area.
• Kindred Fire Department: Volunteer/combination fire department serving the Kindred community in Cass County. Comparable small-staff, tax-funded peer within the same county mutual aid network.
• Casselton Fire Department: Small-town combination fire department in Cass County serving Casselton and adjacent townships. Directly comparable in size, tax-funding model, and rural/suburban service mix.
• West Fargo Fire Department: Fire department serving West Fargo, the second-largest city in Cass County. Directly comparable combination/volunteer-influenced public fire agency operating under the same mutual aid and county emergency management framework as SVFR.
• Harwood Fire Protection District: Small fire protection district in northern Cass County. Comparable as a tax-funded, volunteer-driven rural fire entity in the same county.

Regional players

• Moorhead Fire Department (Minnesota): Fire department serving the City of Moorhead directly across the Red River from Fargo. A regional peer operating the same cross-border mutual aid agreements and serving a similarly small-city residential and commercial mix.

Others

• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA): National standards-setting body whose codes (NFPA 1, 101, 13) govern the fire inspections, permits, and community risk reduction programs SVFR delivers. A peer in the sense of setting the regulatory framework the district operates within.
• North Dakota Firefighters Association: State-level association providing training, certification, and advocacy for fire departments across North Dakota. Comparable as an ecosystem participant supporting fire department operations and training programs like those offered by SVFR.

Broad incumbents

• Fargo Fire Department: The primary career fire department serving the City of Fargo, the largest metro in Cass County. Comparable as a public fire protection agency operating in the same county under the same mutual aid network, with a much broader full-time staffing and equipment base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php?id=100057155002865
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southernvalleyfire

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Valley Fire & Rescue