5/21/09
The state Fire Marshal’s office is demanding that Rio Arriba County return $182,059 allocated for the long-defunct Lybrook Volunteer Fire Department.
State Deputy Fire Marshal Vernon Muller informed County Manager Lorenzo Valdez in an April 24 letter that the state Fire Protection Fund Act requires the County to return the Lybrook Department’s current balance to the state. State statute 59A-53-14 requires the County to close any fire department that ceases to operate for 90 days, and to return the closed department’s money to the state.
Nevertheless, the County Commission voted again April 30 to postpone closing the Lybrook Department although it has been inoperative for three years. The delays were requested by Valdez despite objections by County Fire Marshal Jerome Sanchez that the delays violated state law.
“I don’t know why they’re delaying it, but it’s bad,” Sanchez said. “If there’s a fire department there, the County’s liable because people have an expectation that there will be fire service in an emergency.”
The Lybrook Fire Department, established in 1982, has been inactive since 2006, Sanchez said. In October, the state froze the Department’s funds except for utility costs, Sanchez said.
The County has been paying $420 a month to maintain water, gas, electricity and phone service to the building, County Comptroller Mary Louise Martinez said.
“One thing I want to make clear is that our state Fire Marshal and (the state Public Regulation Commission) have made every attempt to get the station up and running,” Public Regulation Commissioner Jerome Block, Jr. said. “Our hands are tied now. We’ve exhausted every effort.”
State Fire Marshal John Standefer said there is little time left to offer the state a plan for making the department functional again.
“If a department is nonfunctional for 90 days, the money needs to be returned,” Standefer said. “If the County offered a viable plan to keep that Department open, we’d be willing to un-freeze the department’s money. If that’s not put on the table fairly soon, we have no option but to take that money back (from the County).”
The County has 30 days to respond to the April 24 letter, Standefer said.
The Lybrook Department’s closure is not the County’s fault, Standefer said.
“The problem here is, you reach a point where you just don’t have the population to serve on a fire department and no amount of resources or money will fix that problem,” Standefer said. “Getting people to volunteer for fire departments is becoming more difficult. It’s a problem in rural areas.”
Block said he would contact County commissioners to emphasize the importance of acting quickly, and he also wanted answers from Valdez about the delays in closing the department.
“Lorenzo (Valdez) has not given much of an answer,” Block said.
Valdez said the delays were necessary to give him time to warn San Juan County of the impending closure.
“The Department is within 200 yards of the (San Juan) County boundary and some of their constituents need the station open,” Valdez said. “We made an effort to pull them together but as of March, people kind of dropped out. I don’t think there’s anybody now.”
Sanchez visited Lybrook May 14 to meet with community members about a last-ditch effort to revive the fire department, Valdez and Sanchez said.
Sanchez said Lybrook resident LeRoy Lopez is now heading up the effort to save the Department.
“He agreed to come up with a plan by May 28,” Sanchez said. “So we’ll hear from him soon one way or the other. He has to convince us and the state too, so he has to move on this pretty darn quick. If nothing comes by the 28th, we’ll proceed with closing the station.”
Lopez was elected as the department’s new fire chief April 6, after former chief Larry Ham left for a job in Texas, Lopez said.
“I’ve got 17 volunteers signed up, mostly new recruits,” Lopez said. “There are no medical services out here and when there are traffic accidents, it takes San Juan an hour to respond.”
But Rio Arriba and San Juan county officials said Lopez has his work cut out for him.
“They’ve got people signed up on a list saying they’re willing to try to do it,” San Juan County Fire Chief Larry Marcum said. “But they need all 14 to make good. That’s the bottom line, to have any real chance of that thing being functional. I’d say let’s just shut it down.”
San Juan County will cover the Lybrook area if the department shuts down, Marcum said.
“We have been doing that for two years anyway,” Marcum said. “If there’s a significant fire, a structure fire or a big head-on wreck on the highway, we automatically send (calls) out to three stations. A closure wouldn’t create new gaps. The real impact is it’s a long time to get help if you’re in a wreck out there. The harsh reality is, if your home catches fire, it will burn to the ground.”
Sanchez has submitted a request to Standefer, asking that Lybrook’s equipment be moved to other area departments.