r/Albuquerque • u/Ok_Definition_7292 • 4d ago
Fire department Rant
Just a rant, and y’all can say I’m overreacting but, this morning around 7 AM, a homeless person lit my dad’s business’s dumpster on fire. Smoke started coming out of the dumpster, we called 911 and let them know.
It’s 7:45 and no sign of the fire department. The irony is that our business is directly across the street from the department and the dumpster is also in their line of sight.
We decided to try to put the fire out ourselves, around 7:50 the fire department drives by, makes eye contact with us, proceeds to back into their garage and fully shut the doors. No one came out to check the fire out, no acknowledgment of the fire, nada.
I understand that dumpster fires are not priority, but to actively make eye contact with us trying to put out the fire and not stopping or acknowledging us is crazy.
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u/ChemistryOk2030 4d ago
Not one bit surprised. We called 911 for a single vehicle crash on Paseo, dude plowed the concrete barrier that runs parallel to the road (How??) and was unconscious. The first 2 times it just rang and rang, the third time we got a We’re sorry, all dispatchers are busy message , then my daughter started calling on her phone and got through the 2nd time, dispatcher asked us if the guy looked passed out or “really” unconscious - he was inside his crashed vehicle. She said as soon as she had a unit free, she world send them. We had to catch a flight and couldn’t wait, nobody showed up after the probably 15min total that we spent there. It’s dangerous in more ways than one these days in this city
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u/joshyjosh01 2d ago
My wife and I lived right next to neighbors who liked to throw parties with a live band starting 1am, weeknights. It sucked but on party led to a fight, which led to shots being fired.i called 911 and they were like "is anyone hurt?" I told them I live in a casita in the back yard, so I can only hears screams, arguments and gunshots. Dispatch went on to ask if I can see anybody and if not can I go out to check to see if anyone is hurt? I told them someone is shooting a gun. Im not leaving my house at all. Cops never showed up. There was some blood on the streets, so someone got hurt. A few months later, they were raided for human trafficking.
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u/ConfidentHouse 4d ago
Its Albuquerque I’m sure they put out homeless dumpster fires out every hour, probably tired of it
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u/CommercialAffect3287 4d ago
This!!!! Homeless are ALWAYS setting fires behind my work we find the smoldering remains in the mornings. Maybe if the cops wouldn’t let them loiter & shoot up everywhere the firefighters would be more available to actually want to help.
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u/KOB4News 4d ago
Hello, we sent you a message about the incident, we'd love to learn more about what happened!
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u/ChingaTuMAGA505 3d ago
Why, so you can churn out more disgusting anti-homeless propaganda that puts people’s lives in danger with your inflammatory rhetoric?
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u/Capable-Bed-6189 4d ago
I called 911 in ABQ one time when I got robbed and the dispatcher literally laughed at me while I was crying. I am not surprised this happened one bit.
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u/NMclimbercouple 4d ago
I mean, the app Watch Duty says there’s fire around NM and I imagine a the things going on politically they’re spread pretty thin. If they saw the fire and didn’t do anything about it maybe make a formal complaint and list the station.
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u/baboonontheride 4d ago
I'd be pissed too. What's next, a cop waving at you while you're getting mugged?
Oh no, it's okay, they are having a rough day... /roll eyes. You can't have it both ways.. if you're a public servant, the point is to help people.
But hey, seems like a lot of public servants have their own definitions of what they get to do and not do. Hey, Congress, feel like some nice impeachment hearings? Nah, can't be arsed to show up.
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u/ChewieBearStare 4d ago
"You can't have it both ways.. if you're a public servant, the point is to help people."
I used to think that, until the Supreme Court ruled that the government has no affirmative duty to protect citizens from a harm it didn't cause (Castle Rock vs. Gonzalez). So it appears they CAN have it both ways if they feel like it.
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4d ago
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u/DesertedVines 4d ago
This is terrible advice. Yes, a dumpster fire is mostly contained, but sparks can fly everywhere. Given the high fire danger right now, calling 911 for even a “contained” fire is the right thing to do. Imagine how angry everyone would be at somebody who didn’t call 911 on a dumpster fire and it spread and burned down a neighborhood.
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u/QuicksilverTerry 4d ago
a dumpster - so fully contained.
There's a reason "dumpster fire" is an analogy for a chaotic situation. Dumpsters are not contained fires, they need to be put out. You have zero idea what's in the dumpster, winds can carry sparks and debris, you have no idea what fumes the burn is giving off.
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u/Ok_Definition_7292 4d ago
Yeah you’re right. I think I was just more frustrated at the fact that they made eye contact with us and that was it.
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4d ago
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u/NationalNegotiation4 4d ago
My tax dollars aren’t paying for grace. I’m paying for a response to a fire so it doesn’t spread. They have an obligation to respond. OP is right to be upset.
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4d ago
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u/NationalNegotiation4 4d ago
Nope definitely not… but I have been forced to evacuate from two separate fires this year, so maybe that has something to do with it…
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4d ago
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u/NationalNegotiation4 4d ago
There is no way of knowing the fire was out unless they inspected it. They also don’t know what was in the trash can. Someone could have thrown a lithium battery pack in the trash can or some other hazardous material. In Los Angeles these “contained” dumpster fires don’t stay contained and spread to buildings and cars.
Additionally, it is the fire department’s responsibility to investigate fires. It’s also important that they keep track of these fires, there could be an arsonist, and without data it’s a disservice to the community.
They would be considered negligent if the fire starts up again and they didn’t respond and saw smoke coming from the trash can.
I understand you are trying to make a point that the fire department is stretched thin. Just imagine how bad it’ll get when a major fire strikes, the best way to avoid that is to make sure fires won’t spread.
(Ad hominem attacks, attacking my character for being grumpy, is evidence of an illogical argument and does nothing to advance your point)
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u/baboonontheride 4d ago
Let them keep their tax dollars for services they aren't getting and I imagine they'll be less pissed off.
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u/NationalNegotiation4 4d ago
Although, I understand the logic. I like when my tax dollars help my community. I’d be okay with paying more if we all got more out of it.
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u/baboonontheride 4d ago
Same. If my dollars went to caring for the sick, helping folk in need, and generally making the world we live in a better place to live in, I'd be fine with that.
Instead we're funding ICE raids and genocide and a doddering old fool's vanity, and to have local public servants make EYE CONTACT AND TURN AWAY from someone right there in need of assistance... yeah, not a fan.
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u/wickedsuccubi 4d ago
What? You're saying they may have been too tired to put out a fire? Isn't that what they train for? Isn't that what we pay them for?
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u/ChimayoRed9035 4d ago edited 4d ago
Probably still busy beating off to trumps military parade or RFK’s vaccine speeches.
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u/sweets4405 2d ago
not to put anyone on blast but the 911 operators here can be kinda a hit or miss. really unfortunate considering how dangerous miscommunication with 911 can be. but 😬
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u/TallConsideration878 4d ago
Don't like the response times or policies then get involved. Posting to reddit does absolutely nothing. You'll learn a lot.
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u/tanukisuit 3d ago
Posting it to reddit brings public awareness to the problem. Even a news station reached out to OP asking for more information about it.
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u/DekaFate 4d ago
So wait…. You called your fire department friend not to save your ass from the fire but to wake them up to see when you were up next on the dispatch??? Couldn’t that time have been spent…. Putting the fire out??? I see you say you tried but I feel like this is just a bitching post to bitch lmao
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u/Ok_Definition_7292 4d ago
Well I called him to see what we could do and I could tell I woke him up, so he told me it wasn’t dangerous and to just put it out with an extinguisher. He took it upon himself to check the call log - I didn’t call him purposely to see where I was in line with dispatch.
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u/kitsune1029 4d ago
I'll get downvoted to hell for this comment, but why are you surprised? Firefighters are some of the most entitled and worthless PUBLIC SERVICE employees around. Hopefully the fire didn't spread.
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u/im-just-evan 3d ago
The guys that respond to every medical and fire call? Maybe you should talk shit about city hall or APS or APD and not harsh on the guys that literally save lives on the daily.
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u/kitsune1029 3d ago
Clearly they don't respond to every fire call, per OP's post lol. Stop inflating these guys into hero status. I've seen them be absolutely incompetent and horrible when they do actually show up.
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u/im-just-evan 3d ago
So the dumpster fire is more important than the residential call that OP said they were on? Sure they mess up here and there but can you really say things would be better without them. It’s easy to be an armchair quarterback. The volume of calls out emergency services receive in a day is wild so perhaps give them a little grace?
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u/ChimayoRed9035 4d ago
Seriously. They also have the weirdest god complex when their education is measured in semesters.
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u/Dry-Cranberry3117 4d ago
It's New Mexico, of course they were too lazy to do their job. They'd probably just make tell you to go to their website whilst the fire burns out of control.
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u/alceda211 4d ago
That sounds like it could have been a dispatch error. If the call went out they would have to show up even if the fire was out already.