Portales Fire Department plagued by shortages

Jan. 28—Manpower losses due to pay issues and burnout are plaguing the Portales Fire Department, resulting in shortages of emergency medical technicians and firefighters, Portales Fire Chief T.J. Cathey told city councilors Tuesday.

Because of the shortages, Cathey said, the fire department has not been able to continue operations at Fire Station 2. Cathey said the station was closed because of insufficient manpower to keep two stations operating with eight firefighters or emergency medical employees on all shifts.

In the matter of pay, he said, firefighters earn about $17 per hour while untrained employees start at more than $18 at local retail stores.

The problem is the same statewide, Cathey said, and he said legislation proposed in the New Mexico State Legislature, he hopes, will bring a substantial increase in funding for emergency medical services.

Trained firefighting and emergency medical personnel, he said, are also responding to many calls a day and must stay on duty for on-call and replacement calls, resulting in burnout.

Cathey said he has talked with former Portales firefighters who have taken firefighter positions in other cities and learned they are earning more money with half of the overtime they were putting in with Portales.

With fewer trained personnel available, Cathey said, the department handled "the most calls in our history" in 2022.

There were 3,606 calls for fire and emergency medical services in 2022, Cathey said. Of that total, 3,114 were emergency medical calls and 492 were fire calls.

The most significant increase was in grass fire calls, where a record 81 calls were made in 2022. There were 31 structure fire calls over the same period. Cathey said.

In addition, Cathey said, 21% of calls for fire and emergency medical services were from out-of-town Roosevelt County locations. The cost of out-of-town calls, he said, was about $387,000, but the county pays only about $30,000 for the service.

City Manager Sarah Austin said she is working with Roosevelt County officials to address that situation.

On the other hand, Cathey said, county ambulances are helpful to the city.

In 2023, Cathey said, the fire department is seeking to hire more firefighters to increase the number available per shift.

He said ending a mandatory call back policy, replacing it with voluntary overtime, has already improved morale without affecting availability of personnel when needed.

He said he also seeks to improve employee training so more employees are certified as paramedics, and all firefighters meet minimum firefighter certification.

He also said the department will "maintain high mileage units," but try to obtain a new rescue engine and a new ambulance.

In coming years, he said, goals are to ensure all personnel are certified as basic or intermediate emergency medical technicians, decrease burnout, increase retention and recruitment of personnel, improve health and wellness programs for firefighters, and establish a training facility and an administrative office for the department.

In other matters Tuesday, the council:

— Voted unanimously to work with Roosevelt County on resurfacing Roosevelt Road 6, 18th Street and Industrial Drive to accommodate heavy milk truck traffic originating at two industrial sites located on Industrial Drive. County officials have proposed that the county work with city and industry officials to assure road surfaces capable of accommodating the heavy load of truck traffic there.

— Decided unanimously to allow extra time for owners of property at 422 S. Main St. and 1409 N. Main St. to correct problems that led to both properties being declared dangerous, because owners of the properties have made progress on correcting conditions.

— Delayed action on authorizing use of the city's softball field complex by the Portales Softball Association to allow councilors to meet with association officers.

— Named all first responders, including communications dispatchers, police and fire department personnel as employees of the month. In proposing the designation, Cathey said people can "never fully understand or appreciate their sacrifice." City Manager Austin added, "Sacrifice is something they don't think twice about."

— Designated February as Heart Awareness Month.

— Approved payment of $1.3 million in bills for December. Finance Director Marilyn Rapp said December was a "light month" due to the holidays.

— Agreed to designate $47,450 in revenue from a nationwide settlement with opioid manufacturers as a contribution to establishment of a regional mental health facility for eastern New Mexico.

— Accepted a $2,500 fee set by the state for collecting cannabis excise tax revenues for the city. The city's share of those revenues for 2022 was between $60,000 and $65,000, Rapp said.