Sunland Park, NM, Fire Chief Reflects on Calls to U.S., Mexico Border

    April 18, 2025
    Sunland Park Fire Chief Danny Medrano talks about the types of calls his firefighters respond to along the border.

    Firefighters in the southern border town of Sunland Park are kept busy with calls involving migrants who are entering the U.S. from Mexico.

    Talking with a reporter from KOAT.com, Fire Chief Danny Medrano showed where Sunland Park firefighters respond and outlined the most common calls they respond too.

    They include rescues of people trapped atop the border wall, falls from the wall, drownings and body recoveries and other injuries.

    "The wall in this part of the country or this part of the southwest, it's about 20 feet tall, maybe 25 feet, given the location," Medrano told the television station. "So, a migrant will get either stuck on the top and we have to rescue them from the top or they'll actually fall when they're trying to come on to the United States side."

    The chief said they "had quite a bit of body recoveries where we assisted other agencies with actually picking up bodies in the desert."

    One incident in the Rio Grande River resulted in dozens being rescued from the river. 

    Another, Medrano recalled, including both rescues and recoveries.

    The chief said firefighters work in rugged, dangerous terrain that is often remote an inaccessible from roadways.

    Medrano was born and raised in Sunland Park.