State grants NM fire department $1M for heavy duty rescue truck

Carlsbad Fire Chief Rick Lopez said the department has outgrown its older rescue truck and will benefit from access to more equipment at scenes

Mike Smith
Carlsbad Current-Argus, N.M.

CARLSBAD, N.M. — The City of Carlsbad took the first of many steps in acquiring a new $1 million heavy duty rescue truck for the Carlsbad Fire Department.

The Carlsbad City Council approved a grant with the State of New Mexico on Jan. 12 to purchase the new vehicle, which would replace the current truck, which is 9 years old, Fire Chief Rick Lopez said in a memo to councilors.

Carlsbad Fire Chief Richard Lopez welcomed City Council approval of a $1 million grant from the State of New Mexico for a new rescue vehicle. (Photo/City of Carlsbad)

According to a grant application from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) the money was allocated by the 2020 New Mexico Legislature.

The money is coming from the DFA’s local government division, the application read.

“I’m very grateful to the State for the funds,” Lopez said.

He said now is the time to slow down the current rescue vehicle.

“It is time to place this truck in a reserve status and not a first out apparatus,” Lopez said in the memo.

He said the fire department has outgrown the current medium sized vehicle and the new truck allows firefighters to have more equipment when dealing with traffic accidents and rescues.

“We put our equipment through a lot of use,” Lopez said.

He said the new truck’s ability to carry more equipment will help the department deal with the continued growth of the Carlsbad community.

“With the additional equipment, we will be able to operate safer and more efficiently,” Lopez noted in his memo.

Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway said the new truck is a welcome asset for the Carlsbad Fire Department.

“Rescue vehicles with the fire department also take on a lot of wear and tear, and the current rescue truck is almost a decade old,” Janway said. “This is a positive for the fire department and for our community.”

Lopez said the Carlsbad Fire Department could have the new truck sometime in 2022.

“The construction time for this truck is approximately 13 months from the time it is ordered,” he said in his memo.

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McClatchy-Tribune News Service