Albuquerque –
Around 6:20 PM on Sunday, December 14, Albuquerque Fire and Rescue reported that a group of demonstrators had gathered near Central Ave and Dallas St, near Station 5, and had lit at least one fire. AFR requested assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department as firefighters were purportedly unable to leave Station 5 to respond to other calls for service in the area, including a separate fire at Central and Louisiana. According to a radio transmission, the demonstrators had lit a dumpster on fire outside of Station 5 reportedly in protest of AFR extinguishing overnight fires set by the homeless.
Another fire crew that was out at the time of the protest incident offered to first respond to the fire at Central and Louisiana and then stop to extinguish the dumpster fire. Per radio transmissions, because there was an active protest near Station 5, the ladder truck was advised to wait for supervisor approval and wait for APD.
By approximately 6:55 PM, the demonstrators relocated to the area of Central Ave and Vermont St, with some participants leaving. When APD arrived on scene, officers observed approximately twenty to thirty people protesting peacefully and confirmed that the demonstrators were no longer lighting objects on fire.
Around the same time, a motor vehicle crash involving a vehicle and an ART bus occurred near Central Ave NE and Rhode Island St, further adding to the chaos unfolding in the area. It remains unknown whether the demonstration and the crash were related. The driver of the car purportedly fled the scene. Albuquerque Ambulance Services responded and transported at least one individual to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Just before 8:00 PM, the demonstrators returned to the area near the Adam Food Market at Central Ave and Virginia St. Their demonstration concluded at approximately 8:15 PM.
As of the most recent information, no arrests or charges had been made in connection with the alleged threats to AFR’s Station 5 or any interference with its response to other calls.
APD was sent back out to Station 5 around 9:10 PM. As to the nature of why they were sent back out, it remains unclear.
On Sunday night around 8:45 PM, we reached out to AFR about the demonstration and to determine whether it affected their response to other fires or medical calls around Station 5. Early Monday morning, we received confirmation that Station 5’s dumpster had been set on fire. At the time the email was sent, AFR was unaware of Station 5 fire crews being locked down or any response delays but indicated they would have more information later in the day.
According to flyers circulating on social media, the group Dare to Struggle claims that AFR extinguished a homeless woman’s fire, soaking her and allegedly causing her to freeze to death.
AFR stated that they have no information supporting the group’s claims. They reported that an apparent unattended death occurred and that APD is working with OMI to determine the official cause of death.
Yesterday, we reached out to the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) to inquire if the OMI was investigating the death of a homeless person that had been sprayed, doused, or drenched with water and subsequently dying from exposure or hypothermia. When asking the OMI our question, we did not specify a gender.
The OMI reported that it could not locate any cases matching that description and they additionally reviewed report requests from AFR. During that review, OMI identified one case referenced by AFR involving an unhoused individual who died while sleeping next to an outdoor/outside fire. The OMI confirmed that the deceased gentleman was not wet and had preexisting conditions that contributed to his death.
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