Training and innovation to the rescue
AFR works with community to get most bang for public’s buck
In 2018, Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) responded to 109,816 emergency calls. To put that in perspective, that’s far more than many larger cities throughout the country, such as Oklahoma City, El Paso and Austin. The call volume for AFR has more than doubled over the past 10 years. While the department extinguished an average of two working structure fires each day last year, 87 percent of the calls we responded to were medically related.
Mayor Tim Keller recognized that we needed innovative solutions to meet our community’s needs. We’re using proactive solutions to address the increase in calls and improve the public education programs we offer.
One issue driving the increase in call volume was an upsurge in our low-acuity medical calls, like calls for public inebriates or residents with short-term nonemergent illnesses. These are typically non-emergency incidents that can take resources away from life-threatening emergencies in the city. Many of these calls were from residents who frequently utilized the 911 system for reasons other than its original intent. While these calls may have a medical component, they are typically associated with a social or economic issue that is not easily managed by the firefighters in the field.
Recognizing these trends, the Keller administration funded the first community EMS program in the history of AFR. As part of the Home Engagement and Alternative Response Team (HEART) program, AFR Paramedics became certified as community health workers. HEART makes home visits in a nonemergency setting to help people in the community with a variety of medical and social needs. The patients that HEART works with are identified through our internal database and from AFR field unit referrals. HEART works in a variety of ways to help some of our most vulnerable citizens obtain resources so that they are not dependent on emergency services, such as fall prevention and harm reduction related to opiate overdoses.
HEART received universal support from many community organizations that were excited to see AFR thinking outside of the box. Although only operational for six months, HEART was awarded Support Division of the Year in 2018 by our peers. Though the program is new, we have already seen an improvement. Of the community members enrolled in the program, we have reduced their reliance on 911 by over 60 percent.
AFR is also committed to offering public education that is effective and relevant. While the department conducts various public education programs, including installing smoke alarms and fire extinguisher safety training, we were not tracking any of these programs and there was some internal duplication of effort. To best utilize our resources, we restructured several positions to start a Community Risk Reduction (CRR) program to coordinate all public education and training sessions. It is vital that our firefighters are engaging the community with current, coordinated and relevant information.
One of our newest CRR programs is our ‘Lifesaver’ training, which is a short two-hour training that teaches civilians simple life-saving interventions for conditions that cause death within minutes. These skills include hands-only CPR, Automated External Defibrillation (AED) use, hemorrhage control, and naloxone administration. The training is done in a hands-on setting where everyone learns these techniques, and by the end of the class the participants can perform them confidently. Many of our community members reported feeling empowered by their new skill set.
Making the best use of resources is a responsibility the Keller administration takes seriously. We found ways to address the increase in calls and improve the public education programs we offer. We will continue implementing innovative solutions to meet the needs of our community and provide outstanding service.