The mission of the Authority is to provide fire suppression of buildings, wildland and vehicle, emergency medical services/ambulance service including patient transport, rescue (water, rope, confined space, vehicle), fire prevention, fire code enforcement, public education, hazardous material response, to a population of 45,000 in approximately 325 square miles of southwestern Colorado.
The Authority staffs three stations 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
Station One is located in Bodo Industrial Park, Station Two is located in central Durango and Station 15 is located north of Durango near the Durango Mountain Resort.
Each of the staffed stations has a company that includes a captain, engineer, firefighters and paramedics.
The Authority operates 13 volunteer and residence fire stations.

The Authority is not empowered to levy a tax, and is funded by assessments from the three founding entities. The Durango Fire & Rescue Authority is governed by a seven-member board of directors made up of two representatives from each founding entity and one member selected at large. The governing board is responsible for, among other things, adopting the budget, appointing committees, and hiring the Authority’s fire chief. The fire chief is responsible for carrying out the policies of the board of directors, for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Authority