1/22/09
Reformists arrived at the Abiquiú Fire Department’s old fire station Jan. 14 ready for an election fight that didn’t materialize — and saw their candidate run unopposed as the Department’s new chief.
Dismissed Fire Chief Phillip Trujillo, who held the post for 10 years, did not show up to the meeting. Nor did at least 24 other old-guard Department volunteers whose names appear on the station roster.
The 10 members who did attend nominated veteran volunteer firefighter and Abiquiú native Paulette “P.J.” Jordan as the unopposed nominee to replace interim Chief Ben Jaramillo.
Jaramillo has served since Trujillo’s suspension last summer over alleged misuse of a Department ambulance and other infractions. Trujillo has since been dismissed, Rio Arriba County Fire Marshal Jerome Sanchez said.
“There was abuse of telephones, fuel and equipment storage at his house,” Sanchez said of Trujillo’s dismissal.
Trujillo was originally suspended from duty by Sanchez last summer after Trujillo transported a volunteer firefighter to Española Hospital in the Department’s ambulance despite his not being a certified emergency medical technician.
Several of the 10 firefighters who did attend came prepared for a fight that did not materialize. Volunteer Firefighter Rick Quintana said many of the no-shows included Trujillo supporters who wouldn’t have been able to vote at any rate. Citing a copy of the Department’s bylaws he brought to the meeting, Quintana said that only members who attend at least 50 percent of meetings and training events, and who respond to at least 35 percent of emergency calls, are eligible to vote.
“There are 25 or 30 on the firefighter roster and more on the emergency medicine roster,” Quintana said. “But only a handful — six or seven of us — show up regularly. I came early tonight to make sure they didn’t try to hold a vote earlier than scheduled.”
There was little debate over who was eligible to vote or who should be nominated.
Abiquiú physician and Abiquiú Area Emergency Services Project President Fernando Bayardo encouraged Jaramillo to run against Jordan, thanking Jaramillo for his service. But Jaramillo demurred from seeking another stint as chief, citing his day job and already-limited time with his family.
Jordan said her priorities are to “take the Department forward as a whole, working as a unit,” to improve the Department’s insurance ISO rating of nine and relationship with the County, and to oversee the Department’s move into a new fire station that is currently under construction. The International Standards Organization (ISO) inspects fire departments and assigns them insurance ratings between one and 10 based on factors like communication, preparation, the number and placement of engine companies and whether they have a sufficient and an accessible water supply. The higher the number, the more likely residents of that fire district are to have higher insurance premiums because of a failure to meet ISO standards.
Jordan also said she would focus on recruitment to rebuild the Department’s volunteer roster.
“We need as many (volunteers) as possible,” Jordan said. “The more, the merrier.”
Tom Marquez, of Medanales, showed up to fill out an application in hopes of becoming Jordan’s first new volunteer.
The old fire station — and the fire hydrant next to it — lack reliable water pressure and the building has been condemned by Sanchez, Quintana said. The new station is next to land owned by Abiquiú Area Emergency Services Project Board Secretary Sam Jewell in Abiquiú. Jewell said he intends to donate water for the station from his agricultural well.
Sanchez said that the new station will be ready by April “if all goes smoothly.”