The Valencia County Fire Department is struggling to meet demand with limited staff to answer a growing number of calls.
Fire Chief Matt Propp said the fire department has experienced a nearly 50% increase in calls in the last year. Those calls are handled by 12 full-time firefighters and 25 volunteers. There is only enough manpower to operate one station full-time. The others are staffed when volunteers are available. That’s hardly enough to cover the unincorporated areas of Los Lunas, Belen, Peralta and Rio Communities all the way to Highland Meadows.
“Our crews run about 500 calls a month, so what we’re finding is our current career staff was taking that workload pretty heavily,” Propp told KRQE News. “Our single crew, the way it’s structured right now is running 30 to 35 calls in 48 hours, and when you think about the amount of time they’re on a call, that can be two days with no sleep.”
Propp said the fire department is looking to add six more full-time firefighters to the department. That would provide six firefighters to each of their three stations. Funding would come from the American Rescue Plan.
“Using that money to be the 'right now' solution, and then starting Jan. 1 of 2025, the county will absorb those positions,” Propp told KRQE News.
Filling vacant positions is easier said than done. The department previously required firefighter and EMT training, but now is providing more on-the-job training. The department hopes to hire new firefighters by early November.
.