By: Elizabeth McCall
City councilors approved a bill that would change how paramedics are deployed at fire stations after numerous Albuquerque firefighters filled the City Council chambers on Monday night in support of legislation, despite backlash from Mayor Tim Keller’s administration.
[Yes: Joaquín Baca, Dan Champine, Renée Grout, Dan Lewis, Klarissa Peña, Nichole Rogers, Louie Sanchez
No: Brook Bassan, Tammy Fiebelkorn]
The Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) recently announced paramedics would be shifted from ambulances to fire engines in some parts of the city — which AFR said would create faster responses in high demand areas.
Councilors Dan Lewis and Joaquin Baca introduced a resolution that would establish the standard of two paramedics per ambulance as the city’s minimum after hearing from the firefighters’ union and multiple firefighters that disagreed with the changes AFR was proposing.
Christopher Epley, who has worked for AFR for 15 years, told councilors he did not think AFR’s proposed staffing model changes would deliver a higher level of service. Epley said it would “dilute an industry leading model, effectively lowering the bar with which we measure our success.”
Greg Montoya, a captain with AFR, thanked Lewis and Baca for proposing the resolution because he said it would allow the department to maintain care and safety to citizens and firefighters.
“It’s about the safety of the patient, your constituent is getting that high level of care,” Montoya said. “More importantly, it’s about our safety as well. God forbid one of my brothers and sisters goes down in a fire. We have that two-medic rescue that’s there to treat them as well. So it’s about our safety, that’s a big component of it. Even in our staffing policies…it clearly states that we respond with two paramedics on rescue, one is non-preferred.”
Lewis said AFR is “looking to implement a pretty sweeping change to the staffing requirements,” in explaining why he and Baca wanted immediate action on the legislation. He said having two medics on a rescue is “the best possible service to our community.”
“[The current system is] looked at as a real mark around the country, a standard around the country, where other departments I know come to and look to us for the kind of expertise in the kind of staffing that makes a big impact,” Lewis said. “The bill simply codifies the current system that’s in place.”
AFR Chief Emily Jaramillo told councilors she had concerns with any immediate action legislation that does not involve input from the fire chief, the rescue’s medical director and the mayor’s administration. Jaramillo said each fire station is staffed differently and the proposed resolution could lead to longer response times.
“The plans to grow paramedics, and all of these things, have been tried over and over by administrations,” Jaramillo said. “We are still here having the same conversation with a much busier system, with the same staffing challenges, with my paramedic workforce struggling with burnout on the rescue…I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t believe that this would provide a better service.”
Before voting on the overall bill, councilors approved an amendment from Councilor Nichole Rogers that read:
“To ensure full staffing of the two-paramedic rescue apparatus system, the city must take proactive steps and train its own paramedics by working with our education partners to bring back our own training program.”
“This gets to the root of the issue,” Rogers said. “We need to be able to be nimble and not have to send our firefighters to Santa Fe, for instance, to get training that we can do here.”
After a heated debate that lasted more than two hours, the council passed the resolution.
“We’ve listened to quite a few experts right here,” Baca said. “We make these decisions, we’re the governing body. The experts are right there, it’s not like a politician is making this decision. I want to be clear about that…I don’t see how I don’t side with men and women who’ve been doing this boots on the ground for decades.”
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