Latest news with #JasonFejer
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
How will Albuquerque firefighters battle EV fires?
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Car fires are one of the most common calls that the men and women of Albuquerque Fire Rescue respond to. While the department deals with vehicle fires every single day, they have yet to encounter an electric vehicle fire in Albuquerque. As EVs continue to grow in popularity, Albuquerque Fire Rescue (AFR) acknowledges that it's only a matter of time before they face one in the Duke City, and they know it will require a different approach. Story continues below Job News: NM proposes rule aimed at preventing heat illness for workers Poll Results: Where is the best place to go fishing in New Mexico? Don't Miss: One man's journey out of the juvenile justice system to mentorship 'Just having these crews trained to recognize an EV or a hybrid vehicle versus a typical internal combustion engine vehicle and approaching them a little differently is crucial,' Lieutenant Jason Fejer explained. This different approach is necessary because of the lithium-ion batteries found in EVs. 'People are reporting that to extinguish some of these electric vehicle fires, it can take tens of thousands of gallons of water,' said Lt. Fejer. So, how do you put out a lithium battery fire without using excessive amounts of water? The answer is a specialized fire blanket. The blanket is not meant to smother the flames, but AFR states it works effectively on EVs just as it does on gas-powered cars. 'When these batteries start off-gassing, they produce a gas that's flammable. So, if we can keep that gas from igniting and slow down the burning process around the battery pack, it helps to mitigate the situation.' Just like with gas vehicles, the department emphasizes the importance of proper maintenance and monitoring of car battery packs. While AFR remains alert for EV battery fires, the most common lithium battery incidents they currently respond to are linked to power sources in phones, laptops, and tablets. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘The platform has become obsolete': Albuquerque Fire Rescue ditches PulsePoint app
**Editor's note: The video above is part of separate related coverage on heart disease. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An app that notifies CPR-trained citizens that someone nearby is experiencing a cardiac emergency, in hopes that the trained individual would respond and provide life-saving care, is no longer being used by Albuquerque Fire Rescue. AFR announced that it has decided not to renew its paid subscription to the app PulsePoint, saying it has become 'obsolete.' In addition to cardiac emergencies, the PulsePoint app displays information about other types of calls firefighters and/or EMTs are dispatched to, such as fires, crashes, hazmat incidents, alarms, medical emergencies, and more. Users also could see the exact address crews were dispatched to, which AFR said is a privacy issue. 'Members of the public were not using it to respond to provide bystander CPR,' AFR Lt. Jason Fejer wrote in an email to KRQE. Bernalillo County installs speed cameras on some state roads According to Fejer, in the 10 years that AFR has utilized PulsePoint, the department is only aware of two instances of bystanders reporting to on-scene crews that they were notified via PulsePoint. If someone should need help in a cardiac emergency, Fejer said AFR dispatchers can coach members of the public on how to perform CPR over the phone. He also said AFR's use of the 'GoodSAM' platform allows dispatchers to do a video call with 911 callers to help instruct them on how to perform CPR. AFR is hoping to use the $13,000 it set aside for PulsePoint each year for community training. 'AFR determined the funding would be better served to enhance our Lifesaver program which teaches members of the public how to perform hands only CPR, naloxone administration, and bleeding control,' Fejer stated. According to a post by AFR on Facebook, the department is looking into other options for the media and the public to follow AFR's responses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fire at New Mexico GOP headquarters under investigation as arson
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A fire that damaged the entryway to the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque is being investigated as arson, a fire official said Monday. No suspect has been named in the Sunday morning blaze that's under investigation by local authorities, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Incendiary materials were found on the scene, according to an ATF spokesperson. Spray paint on the side of the building read 'ICE=KKK,' said Lt. Jason Fejer with Albuquerque Fire Rescue. Fejer said federal officials were taking over the arson investigation. Republican leaders described the fire as a deliberate attack. The building had extensive smoke damage, which Republican party spokesperson Ash Soular said left the offices uninhabitable. Surveillance video from the inside the building captured images of the fire, Soular said. She declined Monday morning to give further details and said law enforcement asked the party not to release the video or discuss its contents in detail. State Republican leaders planned a news conference Monday afternoon to address the fire and other damage. The weekend fire followed vandalism across the U.S. in recent weeks targeting dealerships for Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, who is leading Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to slash the federal workforce. Trump has also sought to ramp up deportation efforts against people living in the country illegally, led by agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said in response to the GOP headquarters fire that 'politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable.'
Associated Press
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Fire at New Mexico GOP headquarters under investigation as arson
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A fire that damaged the entryway to the New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque is being investigated as arson, a fire official said Monday. No suspect has been named in the Sunday morning blaze that's under investigation by local authorities, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Incendiary materials were found on the scene, according to an ATF spokesperson. Spray paint on the side of the building read 'ICE=KKK,' said Lt. Jason Fejer with Albuquerque Fire Rescue. Fejer said federal officials were taking over the arson investigation. Republican leaders described the fire as a deliberate attack. The building had extensive smoke damage, which Republican party spokesperson Ash Soular said left the offices uninhabitable. Surveillance video from the inside the building captured images of the fire, Soular said. She declined Monday morning to give further details and said law enforcement asked the party not to release the video or discuss its contents in detail. The weekend fire followed vandalism across the U.S. in recent weeks targeting dealerships for Tesla, the electric car company owned by Elon Musk, who is leading Republican President Donald Trump's efforts to slash the federal workforce. Trump has also sought to ramp up deportation efforts against people living in the country illegally, led by agents at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, a Democrat, said in response to the GOP headquarters fire that 'politically motivated crimes of any kind are unacceptable.'
New York Times
30-03-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Fire at New Mexico Republican Party Headquarters Being Investigated as Arson
The headquarters of the Republican Party of New Mexico in Albuquerque was damaged early Sunday morning in what the party described as a 'deliberate act of arson.' Albuquerque Fire Rescue confirmed that it had been dispatched to the party's headquarters just before 6 a.m. for a report of a structure fire, which was brought under control within five minutes. No injuries to civilians or firefighters were reported. The fire burned the entryway of the headquarters and left smoke damage throughout the building, Lt. Jason Fejer, a spokesman for the fire department, said on Sunday. He confirmed that the department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives were investigating the fire as an act of arson. A spokeswoman for the F.B.I. confirmed that it was investigating but said she could not provide further details because the investigation was ongoing. The A.T.F. did not immediately respond to requests for information on Sunday. The Albuquerque Police Department confirmed that the federal authorities were investigating but did not provide any further information, including whether arrests had been made. In a statement, the Republican Party of New Mexico said the fire was 'not an isolated incident' and was accompanied by the spray-painted letters 'ICE=KKK.' In recent months, ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has deployed agents across the country to carry out what the Trump administration has characterized as a new and more aggressive effort to target illegal immigration and deliver on a key campaign pledge to carry out mass deportations. The Democratic Party of New Mexico said on Sunday that it condemned 'any vandalism at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters as strongly as possible.' The Republican Party of New Mexico said the fire was accompanied by the spray-painted letters 'ICE=KKK.' Credit... Republican Party of New Mexico 'We firmly maintain that this sort of act has absolutely no place in our democracy, and that peaceful discourse and organization are the only ways to approach political differences in our country,' the state Democratic Party added. 'We hope whoever is responsible is found and held accountable.' Amy Barela, the chairwoman of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said on Sunday that the alarm system at the party's headquarters had gone off around 1 a.m., about four hours before the fire started. There had been a separate bomb threat and other acts of vandalism at the headquarters in recent years, she said. A former Republican candidate for the New Mexico House of Representatives this month was found guilty of hiring people to shoot at the homes of Democratic officials in Alburquerque in 2022 and 2023. 'We completely condemn violence,' Ms. Barela said. 'It doesn't matter where it's coming from.' The party was 'deeply relieved that no one was harmed in what could have been a tragic and deadly attack,' she said.
