Doña Ana County commissioners mull takeover of Hatch fire station

LAS CRUCES — Lagging emergency response times, declining numbers of volunteer firefighter/EMTs and the imminent takeover of ambulance services from a private contractor were all cited Tuesday as factors in a proposed agreement between Doña Ana County and the Village of Hatch.

At an open work session, interim county fire chief Andy Bowen presented county commissioners with the key provisions of a memorandum of understanding between the rural village of 1,539 people and Doña Ana County Fire Rescue. The commissioners will consider a resolution authorizing County Manager Scott Andrews to negotiate and sign an agreement with the village next Tuesday, while the village council plans to vote on a similar resolution that evening.

Shrinking numbers of volunteers at the Hatch and Garfield fire stations have added pressure on the county station in Rincon, six miles east of Hatch on the other side of the Rio Grande, Bowen said, leading to longer average response times.

Of particular concern are response times from Rincon to Garfield, a small community ensconced in Hatch Valley farmlands 19 miles north on Interstate 25. Bowen presented data showing current response times from Rincon to Garfield at more than 31 minutes and 35 seconds. Response times to Hatch average 17:45, and 24:44 to Radium Springs, located 18 miles south.

The solution Bowen proposed is to move the professional fire and rescue staff from Rincon into Hatch. “That puts us right in the center of that northern area,” he said.

Under the terms Bowen disclosed Tuesday, Hatch is offering to hand over property deeds for its fire station, engine and firefighting equipment, as well as a residential property behind the fire station.

After Commissioner Shannon Reynolds asked whether the village would continue to pay the county for emergency services, Bowen said Hatch would also transfer state funding it receives annually from appropriations to local fire departments to the county to help cover the costs of equipment and maintenance.

In return, the county would provide career staff sufficient for one rescue vehicle, while volunteers would still be needed. Bowen said Hatch’s volunteer force currently has no EMS equipment.

“We would really need to have a career staff (in Hatch) the whole time, but we really would lean on those volunteers,” Bowen said. “We’re very hopeful that they would volunteer with us in that same area because when that engine responds, that means that station’s empty.”

Under the plan, Bowen envisioned distributing resources between Hatch and Rincon and possibly reorganizing the areas to which stations respond in the northern part of the county to drastically reduce response times.

Bowen said the Hatch fire station needs renovations and suggested the county even consider building a new facility, at an estimated cost of up to $6.5 million.

In May, the city of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County both canceled their contracts with ambulance provider AMR, opting to take over their own emergency services, following local complaints about AMR’s response times. The transfer is set for this month, and Bowen said AMR had advised the county it would pull its resources from Hatch on Sept. 21. “That really puts the burden on Doña Ana County Fire Rescue to provide those transport services.”

“Given the situation, the overtures by the village of Hatch, I think, are appropriate,” said Commissioner Manuel Sanchez, whose district encompasses the village and surrounding communities close to the Sierra County line. “I think in the end it would benefit the residents in the Hatch Valley.”