Abiquiú residents and volunteer firefighters gave Rio Arriba County officials an earful Sept. 24, following news of the County’s plan to auction off the community’s only emergency rescue vehicle.
The County requisitioned the vehicle in July, after the Abiquiú Fire Department’s currently suspended chief Phillip Trujillo used it to transport a volunteer firefighter to the Española Hospital despite the fact that the chief was not a certified emergency medical technician. County Manager Lorenzo Valdez said even certified emergency personnel can only move patients under very limited circumstances, and only if the County medical director signs off.
“You have to get approval to roll,” he said.
Now the County has scheduled to auction off the vehicle Oct. 11. The Department purchased the 1990 Ford rescue vehicle for about $10,000 in 2000, when it had approximately 88,000 miles on it, County documents state.
“I feel like this County is punishing this community for something I did,” Trujillo said.
In a phone interview, Trujillo defended his actions, saying he was just trying to help a friend.
“I just gave her a ride, basically,” he said. “They could have given me a warning or something. I’ve transported several people over the years.”
He also disagreed with the County’s allegations that his actions constituted a liability.
“That’s why we have liability insurance,” he said. “But knowing this County, we may not.”
The County suspended Trujillo after the incident, and Fire Captain Ben Jaramillo replaced him as interim chief until department elections in January.
After the County took the unit from where it was stored at Trujillo’s home, Valdez said inspections of the vehicle gave the County reason not to return it. It had 133,000 miles on it, and its registration with the state Public Regulation Commission stated incorrectly that it was housed at the fire station in Abiquiú rather than at Trujillo’s house.
Abiquiú firefighter Gerald Frank said he helped inventory the contents of the ambulance.
“Everything was broken. Everything was out-of-date at least four years,” he said.
Valdez agreed with Frank’s assessment. He said responding to an emergency in an unreliable, ill-equipped unit can do more harm than good.
“What you were doing with that vehicle was jeopardizing these folks,” Valdez said, addressing Trujillo. “The IVs were black, and the plastic was breaking.”
Trujillo said the County does not like the Abiquiú Fire Department and tries to obstruct its progress, but he thinks the community is on his side. Trujillo said he may soon get a lawyer involved in the fight, especially since he has three years to go with the Department before he can get the level of retirement insurance he wants from the state Public Employees’ Retirement Association.
A lack of equipment was on several Abiquiú volunteers’ minds. They said a defibrillator that had been donated to the department went missing, along with radios and oxygen bottles. A state Fire Marshal inspection conducted in June found the station was missing essential records as well as equipment like fire extinguishers, axes and bottled oxygen for firefighters.
“I’ve been a first responder since May, and I have latex gloves. That’s all I have,” Abiquiú volunteer Jeanette Dominguez said.
Valdez said the Department is accountable for its inventory; he said if equipment is lacking or can’t be found, the County is not responsible for finding it.
Valdez said the County is holding $6,000 the station can use to purchase equipment, and department budget documents show Abiquiú ended the last fiscal year June 30 with about $100,000 in the bank. The County made no indication it plans to buy equipment for the department with its fire tax fund, which is normally used for loans to individual departments or to buy equipment (such as oxygen bottles or other supplies) that benefits multiple departments.
County Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Mateo DeVargas said Jaramillo needs to start by collecting equipment from unresponsive volunteers who have stopped participating in Department meetings and training sessions. He said getting more volunteers certified is also a necessary step.
“We need to continue our education, first of all,” he said.
Valdez would not commit to helping Abiquiú get a new rescue unit. He said the Department needs more medical equipment and certified responders before the County will consider it. He said for now the El Rito Volunteer Fire Department has a rescue vehicle that can serve as a first responder in Abiquiú until ambulances from Española arrive.
Department medical coordinator Tom Rogge said he understands the County’s position, saying the vehicle’s mileage was high, and until May of this year the Department was lacking qualified emergency personnel. However, he said the lack of communication from the County made volunteers and residents feel “violated.”