Santa Fe County is so short of firefighters one station is often shut down.
Firefighters in Station 62 made the difference in 2021 when the restaurant across the street caught fire, Manager Hannah d’Errico told KRQE.
IAFF Local 4366 President Eutimio Ortiz told the reporters: “They are our first response in the Las Campana’s and Tesuque area,” Ortiz continued; but it’s frequently shut down because there aren’t enough firefighters. Now surrounding areas will suffer as response times are expected to double. “The national standard is 6 minutes to respond to an emergency. They might be able to accomplish that when 62 is open most of the time, but when it’s closed it’s not going to happen..."
Ortiz added that with wildfire season just around the corner, firefighters are gearing up. “It starts to play a big role in the amount of work that a firefighter has to do on a fire. We have some key areas that we’re worried about…the eastern side of Santa Fe County there’s really no great way to fight a fire out there with all the houses and lack of fire hydrants."
Also, a state bill that would have created a new fund for career firefighter health care failed to get out of committee.
It would have allowed firefighters to access up to $5,000 annually to pay for deductibles. Volunteer firefighters were not included.
