Fire Department to hold public meetings

The Las Cruces Fire Department announced in a news release they’ll host at least three public meetings and appearances in August, seeking to educate the public and receive feedback.

“The public meetings are a great opportunity for Las Cruces residents and the business community to learn more about the services provided by LCFD and have a say in how the department can better serve its community,” the release said.

The meetings are set for:

• Thursday, Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. in council chambers, Las Cruces City Hall, 700 N. Main St.
• Saturday, Aug. 10, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Farmer’s and Crafts Market, 514 N. Main St.
• Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 5 p.m. in the Roadrunner Room, Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 200 E. Picacho Ave.
  
  

The fire department also noted that it receives about 23,000 calls for services yearly and responds to more than just fires.

“Besides firefighting, the department provides advanced life support care and specialized teams such as their Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials Response, and Aircraft Rescue,” the release said. “Las Cruces Fire also provides ambulance services within city limits, a Mobile Integrated Healthcare program, and a LIGHT crisis intervention team.”

In recent years, LCFD has completed expansion and renewal of its presence in Las Cruces.

In 2022, Las Cruces voters approved a $10 million bond for the city to build a new fire station in the Sonoma Ranch area to service those neighborhoods and the Highway 70 corridor. In 2018, LCFD used another voter-supported GO bond to build Fire Station 3 off Valley Drive near Amador Avenue.

LCFD has also been lauded for its efforts in launching and maintaining Project LIGHT, a behavioral health crisis team that responds alongside traditional emergency response units like police.

Yet despite success, the city’s public dashboard also notes some challenges for the area’s fire and medical emergency response systems. The dashboard notes that some areas remain difficult for emergency units to access. In one case earlier this week, Mesilla Valley Search and Rescue assisted the LCFD in evacuating the driver of an all-terrain vehicle that crashed in an undeveloped area off of the western end of Thurmond Road.