Rio Rancho debates size of EMS response

RIO RANCHO, N.M. (KRQE) - When you call 911 for a medical emergency an ambulance responds and so does a big fire truck.

Rio Rancho City Councilor Tim Crum thinks that could be a waste of resources.

The Rio Rancho Fire Department says they thought they settled this issue last year by preventing multiple engines from responding to nonfire calls.

But at the city's last governing body meeting, Crum asked if it was necessary. He wanted a public discussion on the topic.

Right now, two people run the fire truck and two are in the ambulances that arrive on scenes.

A spokesperson for the fire department says they're saving time by sending a fire crew right away instead of waiting to see if one is needed.

Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack wants to go in the opposite direction, and if the economy gets better he would like to add one more firefighter per engine.

"We think that anything less than what we're responding to right now could be a danger to the community and to the service providers and the EMS people and fire people that are on the scene trying to help," said Swisstack.

Compared to Rio Rancho's four responders per incident, Albuquerque Fire makes sure there are at least eight crew-members responding.

In 2010, Albuquerque firefighters responded to more than 115,00 calls. Only 5 percent of those were for fires.