March 12--Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry has tapped a 20-year veteran of the Albuquerque Fire Department to take over as chief, touting his success in the department and demonstrated leadership ability during his tenure as interim chief for the last two months.
David Downey said during a press conference Tuesday that, as chief, he will focus on firefighter safety, an expansion of emergency medical resources for firefighters in the field, and an improvement of AFD's internal systems.
"There's a lot of work to be done, very important work to be done, and I'm convinced that the best days of the Albuquerque FireDepartment are ahead of us," Downey told reporters.
Downey, 45, was named interim chief upon ex-chief James Breen's retirement two months ago. Before that, he was the department's deputy chief of operations, where he oversaw the department's emergency response, all health and safety programs and other department operations.
He started at AFD in 1993 as a firefighter. Since then, he has served on numerous department committees and completed various local and national trainings, including the National Fire Academy's Executive FireOfficer Program.
Downey's focus on firefighter safety comes from new concerns about health risks associated with the profession. An October 2013 study from National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and other researchers found that firefighters had higher rates of several types of cancers than the rest of the U.S. population. The study looked at mortality and cancer incidence of 30,000 firefighters from three large cities.
Those firefighters had a rate of mesothelioma more than twice the normal rate, likely due to exposure to asbestos in older, burning buildings, researchers said. Last week, Downey attended a presentation from a retired Santa Fe County firefighter, Frank DiLuzio, where he outlined these and other concerning statistics.
"We want to be on the right side of this," Downey said.
For example, Albuquerque firefighters no longer let their gear collect ash and soot between fires, a practice Downey said was a sort of badge of honor for experienced firefighters. Downey said cleaning the gear is a step to reduce exposure to toxins and harmful chemicals thatfirefighters encounter in their daily duties.
Downey also said he'll try to improve the department's capabilities when dealing with emergency medical calls by increasing the amount of "Advanced Life Support" resources in fire engines, including defibrillators and IV kits. That expansion comes amid a steady decrease nationwide in the number of structure fires that used to comprise fire departments' primary mission, in addition to a larger focus on preventative health and reducing the number of 911 calls that firefighters respond to.
"We can have a role in preventing them from calling 911," Downey said.
