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City Council adopts resolution to require two paramedics on rescue units amid heated debate
Summary
The Albuquerque City Council on March 3 approved R‑122 to codify a two‑paramedic minimum on rescue apparatus, overriding administration objections and drawing hours of testimony from firefighters, union leaders and city officials.
The Albuquerque City Council on March 3 passed Resolution R‑122, requiring a minimum of two paramedics on rescue apparatus citywide, with a 7–2 vote.
Councilors Lewis and Baca sponsored the resolution and said it was intended to preserve a long‑standing standard of prehospital care after the administration proposed operational changes that would place paramedics on both engines and rescues rather than keeping two paramedics together on rescue transport units.
Supporters said the two‑paramedic configuration is the city’s ‘‘gold standard’’ for life‑saving care and argued that diluting paramedic staffing would increase risk to patients and to first responders. Dozens of Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) members, retirees and representatives of International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 244 urged the…
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