A mural that decorates an Albuquerque, New Mexico, fire and rescue station has been repainted after being vandalized.
The original artist, who goes by the name of Paz, repainted the mural after being contacted by Fire Station 1.
“It really is cool, and a lot of folks don’t know that it’s there,” Lt. Tom Ruiz of Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) told KRQE. “It’s on the backside of our fire marshal’s office building on what is the west face of Fire Station 1. And it’s part of the 1% of the arts for Albuquerque and it’s a great piece.”
Ruiz said the mural has been popular among those who have seen it.
Paz, the artist, has a son who is a 13-year veteran of AFR, according to KRQE. The original mural was painted in 1999. It is titled “More Than a Firefighter.”
“A lot of folks have commented,” Ruiz said. “We had put it up on our social media and a lot of folks are commenting because of how great a piece it appears to be. It’s quite bright and it really does quite encapsulate what we do in the fire department.”