ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque’s Fire and Police Departments said they’ll be able to rescue people in the water faster, thanks to a new boathouse. AFR and APD will now be housing their airboats and other equipment at a brand-new garage. They said having their boats here saves them 10-15 minutes getting on the water.
The Crew Behind Swift Water & Arroyo Rescues
On a corner of Tingley Drive just north of the ABQ BioPark, a new garage is storing airboats for Albuquerque’s Fire and Police Departments. Prior to this boathouse, AFR used to store their boats at Station Four near Coronado Park while APD’s equipment was housed near their academy on Second Street.
“The issue there is any time we’d get a call, from driving from that location to our launch point at Tingley and Central is about 15-20 minutes, and so having this location here now cuts that down to five minutes at the most here to our launch location,” said Sergeant Brian Shannon, Albuquerque Police Department.
This garage cost more than $600,000 and was completed last winter to house both AFR and APD equipment. AFR Lieutenant Jason Fejer said their boats were also used to respond to the bosque fires a few weeks ago…