San Juan County Commission approves plan to hire new full-time, part-time firefighters

A restructuring of San Juan County Fire & Rescue that was announced by Chief David Vega at a San Juan County Commission meeting earlier this month has been set in motion, as commissioners approved a plan during their Oct. 17 meeting in Aztec to hire several new firefighters and reassign other agency personnel.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a request from Vega to hire three new full-time firefighters/EMTs, as well as the hiring of five new part-time firefighters/EMTs. Vega had indicated during his Oct. 3 appearance before the commission that he would be seeking the hiring of the new firefighters/EMTs, explaining that his department is facing a significant manpower shortage brought on by a multiple-year decline in the number of volunteer firefighters the agency has been able to attract.

“These positions will help bolster our response capabilities and reduce response times during emergencies,” Vega said on Tuesday while asking commissioners to approve the hiring of the full-time personnel.

Vega said the full-time firefighters/EMTs would be stationed in Bloomfield. They will be available to respond to calls throughout the county, but their primary area of responsibility will be such areas as Blanco, Navajo Dam, Sullivan Road, Lee Acres and Crouch Mesa.

Vega said the hiring of the part-time firefighters/EMTs would allow his department to deploy its firefighting force in a flexible fashion to meet fluctuating demands across the county, as well as save taxpayers money by reducing overtime costs.

The chief also received approval from commissioners to implement his plan to reclassify five existing administrative positions in the department. Those individuals are being reassigned from the administrative staff to front-line firefighting positions, he said, explaining that three administrative division chiefs will be reclassified to response division chiefs, while the agency’s administrative fire captain and fire prevention captain will be reclassified as the special services division chief and deputy fire marshal, respectively.

The annual cost to the county for the new hires and changes will be approximately $250,000, he said.

Commission chairman Steve Lanier asked Vega if new hires would be hired from the volunteer ranks or if they would be new trainees. Vega noted that his agency usually has few opportunities for volunteers to move into career positions with the department, something that has caused it to lose good volunteers to other agencies around the state that offer those opportunities.

“So, we do anticipate we will have volunteers who wish to start on a career track, become part-time firefighters/EMTs,” he said.

But he said he also would consider hiring part-time or reserve firefighters/EMTs from other surrounding departments, noting the advantages of bringing aboard firefighters who already are well trained and experienced.

“They can hit the ground running on Day One,” he said.

Commissioners also approved a separate motion related to San Juan County Fire & Rescue, one that may allow Vega to implement a plan to consolidate all the agency’s fire districts, firefighters and equipment into a unified department. The commission approved a notice of intent to amend and restate the county ordinance under which San Juan County Fire & Rescue operates, meaning Vega’s consolidation plan will be set for a public hearing during the Nov. 14 commission meeting and be placed on the agenda for adoption.

Vega said during the Oct. 4 meeting that the change would allow his department to meet the state-mandated minimum of having four trained firefighters respond to every structure fire. Currently, the department only gets credit for the number of trained firefighters who respond to such incidents from the district in which it occurs. So if a firefighters from another district responds, as is frequently the case, his or her participation does not count toward meeting that state standard.

The chief told commissioners at that meeting that seven of the county’s 10 fire districts do not meet the state standard for having at least four trained members respond to each structure fire.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: San Juan County Fire & Rescue will add several new firefighters/EMTs