Medic No. 9 goes into Service at Station No. 9

Albuquerque Fire Rescue has introduced a vehicle to Station No. 9.

Through August, Medic 9 will operate out of Station No. 9. They will be responsible for responding to low-level Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls in Station No. 9’s area, as well as Station No. 13’s, both in the Mid-Heights area of the city. AFR requested $292,000 in funding for the vehicle and later received the funding through the state.

“The Southeast Heights is of course our busiest area, but in the Southeast Heights we’ve already put in service Medic 3 and Medic 12,” said Albuquerque Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Jason Fejer. “The next busiest area that we’re seeing is that near-Northeast Heights, so that’s kind of the next area that we needed to commit to put resources to address just the number of calls.”

Some of these low-level calls include responding to falls, seizures and assaults. By covering these calls, AFR hopes to take the pressure off the area’s other paramedics, allowing them to better serve their respective areas.

“We have some very busy units, and this one is in a place that we’re able to cover Station No. 9 and Station No. 13’s area,” said firefighter Shawn Baxman.

Responding to these low-level calls has also benefited the crews of these trucks.

“I enjoy it personally, mental health wise, not every call is lights and sirens and like pure adrenaline,” said Reylon Wimbish, a driver and paramedic on Medic 9. “It’s a little calmer, a little less mentally taxing.”

The truck is funded through August, at which point the numbers will be analyzed to assess its effectiveness at reducing the area’s call volume, thus allowing faster responses to serious calls. As of the end of July, Medic 9 had responded to 85 calls, the majority of which were in Station No. 13’s area, with 51 calls, followed by Station No. 9’s area with 28 calls. Medic 9 has also taken calls in other stations’ areas, including central Albuquerque, the foothills, and the East Gateway.

“Hopefully, we can use the data from this short kind of pilot program to, basically, justify funding the truck full time,” Fejer said.