Taos native, longtime Albuquerque firefighter retires
Albuquerque Fire Rescue honored Capt. Arthur J. Martinez with a shoutout on Facebook recently after his final shift. Martinez retired after 26 years with the department.
Martinez is the son of Norman and Ruby Martinez of Ranchos de Taos. He is married to Andrea and they have three children – Mateo, Toby and Ava.
Martinez began working with AFR in 1993, according to the department. He joined AFR after working for four years as a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service in Southern California. In his first few years with AFR, his wildland fire experience helped him contribute to the department’s new wildland division. He was promoted to the rank of driver and not long after was trained as an inspector, then spent the next five years working in the Fire Marshal’s Office, according to AFR.
He worked his way up to the rank of lieutenant and then captain. He was later hand-picked to fill the roll of special operations captain at the fire academy where he was instrumental in developing a new operations plan for the International Balloon Fiesta event. Martinez retired out of Station 16, “and what makes this last shift so special is that he will be working along side his son, firefighter Mateo Martinez,” said AFR. “Thank you Captain Martinez for your 30 years of dedication to the fire service and the decades of experience that you have shared with the newer generations of firefighters. Good luck on your future endeavors, you will be missed!”