Southwest Public Safety Center nearly completed in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – More than a year after breaking ground, Albuquerque is now just months away from opening a major new hub for fire, police, and social workers on the corner of 98th Street and Amole Mesa.
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That station is just one part of a newer experiment for Albuquerque, making its first regional public safety center with space for firefighters, police officers, and Albuquerque Community Safety. It was March of last year when they broke ground, and now, the Southwest Public Safety Center is just months away from opening its doors.
'Starting in August, we will open this station with an ALS engine. So it'll be an engine, fire engine that carries the water, the hose, all of that. And then it'll also be staffed with one paramedic and then three firefighters that have our EMT basics so that we can provide paramedic coverage and fire suppression coverage,' said Albuquerque Fire Rescue Chief Emily Jaramillo.
The new hub will serve the Southwest Mesa, one of the fastest-growing areas of the city that's only expected to get bigger. AFR said it's planning for that growth by building extra space for more fire engines expected to call Station 23 home over the next decade.
One of the biggest benefits will be faster response times for AFR in that area. 'We've really relied on our automatic aid agreement to meet response times in this area of the city with Bernalillo County fires. So right now, Bernalillo County Fire is covering quite a bit of this area for us to make sure that we are meeting response times. However, now, AFR being here, this is all city jurisdiction. We're going to be able to meet those response times with our own apparatus,' said Jaramillo.
The center will be one of two planned spaces for ACS on the Westside. 'We're going to have an admin staff here. The thing with our responders is that they're always responding to calls. And so, this will be a nice touch point for them to be able to come in and finish a report. But it'll be a nice space for everybody to collaborate. We can receive referrals from our counter departments here, and we're really excited to be here,' said Jodie Esquibel, director, Albuquerque Community Safety.
Phase one of the project should be open by August. Eventually, the city is also hoping to transit center and a community center on the property.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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