The Las Cruces Fire Department’s newest apparatus, Squad 2, will go into service for the first time at 8 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 12, from Fire Station 2 located at 1199 E. Foster Rd.
Staffed with two personnel, one of whom is at least an Advanced EMT, this six month pilot program is intended to improve service and better utilize department resources by accomplishing these primary goals:
- Reduce response time to emergency incidents.
- Provide the ability to transport critical patients when an ambulance is delayed due to system overload.
- Apply a dynamic staffing model which better matches resources to demand through the use of peak staffing and smaller units for certain incident types.
Fire District 2, served by Engine 2, was selected because Engine 2 responds to more calls for service than any other fire crew in the city. Squad 2 will be staffed for 12 hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. which is the time period that accounts for almost 64 percent of LCFD calls for service. Squad 2 will respond in lieu of Engine 2 for certain pre-determined incident types that can normally be handled by a two-person crew. This unit is also capable of transporting patients who are experiencing life-threatening symptoms on the rare occasion that ambulance response is delayed.
American Medical Response (AMR), Dona Ana County’s transport provider, donated the unit to the city. The Las Cruces Fire Department has worked closely with AMR for more than a year to develop this program in efforts to improve emergency medical services throughout the county. AMR leadership will participate in evaluating the impact of the squad unit in areas outside the city during the pilot program.