ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A new report ranked Albuquerque Fire Rescue 20th in the country for the most calls, but the department says it’s not a ranking they necessarily want to be on.

“It’s not something to celebrate, it’s just something to be aware. These trucks are running, these crews are working hard. And even despite the call volume, they’re still maintaining a high level of service,” said AFR Public Information Officer, Lt. Jason Fejer. 

The report from a publication focused on firefighter safety and efficiency revealed AFR went on more than 97,404 calls for service during 2023. While it sounds like a lot, Fejer says that’s down from 2022.

“When we ran just over 108,000. So we’re trending in the right direction, and that’s a good thing that the survey allows us to do, is kind of compare some of those trends year after year,” said Fejer. 

Fejer explained one of the reasons for the dip in numbers has to do with how they’re splitting up calls.

Albuquerque Ambulance – owned by Presbyterian Hospital – is taking more calls off AFR’s plate. 

“It’s Albuquerque Ambulance taking sick calls. That’s a 26 Alpha, it’s one of our most common calls that we respond to. Them taking those calls on their own is probably the biggest contributing factor to that reduction in call volume overall,” Fejer said. 

Engine 5 is the busiest fire truck in all of Albuquerque, completing 5,899 calls or runs in the last year alone. It’s also the seventh busiest engine nationwide.

“A truck that runs almost 6,000 calls a year, like Engine 5, that equates to 16 to 17 emergency responses every 24 hours. So there’s not, a lot of rest, it’s hard to get all your work done, and respond to all these calls,” said Fejer. 

Fejer says these numbers don’t stop firefighters from protecting New Mexicans every day. 

“I think it’s not a list that we should be proud to be on, bBut I am proud of the work that these trucks are doing,” said Fejer. 

The rest of the report on busiest stations, pay scales, and staffing will come out later this summer.