Albuquerque Fire Rescue truck out of service; department response time not affected

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A woman is arrested for drunk driving after crashing into an Albuquerque Fire Rescue truck Monday night. The vehicle will be out of service for six to eight months.

AFR will not miss a beat, thanks to what it has in reserves. “This is still the best-case scenario we could have had that night,” said Jason Fejer, Public Information Officer at Albuquerque Fire Department.

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Albuquerque Fire Engine 16 was responding to an accident Monday night when it was hit by an SUV near Tramway and Montgomery. “The impact was significant if this truck wasn’t parked where it was, we definitely could have lost some life that night,” said Fejer.

AFR still is waiting for how much it will cost to repair and expects the unit will be out of service for up to 8 months. They were able to call in a reserve truck and handled both accidents Monday night. “We went down in an apparatus, but that crew integrity was still there. We got the crew back in another truck and got them back in service covering the Northeast Heights,” said Fejer.

When the city gets a new firetruck, they do not necessarily get rid of the old one, it is instead moved into its reserve fleet. They have ten reserve engines in case of maintenance or accidents.

This year the fire department received three new engines, putting those over a decade old in the reserve fleet. “Just keeping up with the number of calls and as hard as these trucks work, having ten units in a reserve status is super important, but it’s also a revolving door,”  he said.

AFR has a message for drivers when they are on the road. “So, we are urging people if you see lights and sirens, please slow down. Please move over. Try to be patient, give them some room, and let them work,” said Fejer.

They are expecting another new engine by November or December that will go to station one or seven.

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