Eddy County ponders future of Loving fire department

Eddy County Fire Services Director Joshua Mack said the future of Loving’s volunteer fire department remains in question, following a decrease in the number of volunteers and probationary period for failing to meet reporting requirements.

“Right now, we have four volunteers that we’ve been working with,” Mack said.

He told the Eddy County Board of Commissioners Tuesday that the firefighters were trained by members of the Otis and Malaga Volunteer Fire Departments.

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Loving’s fire department was besieged by problems for nearly a year according to Mack.

The State Fire Marshal’s office placed Loving’s department on probation in December 2018 for failing to submit fire reports to a nationwide database, Mack said.

“We have got them off probation with the State Fire Marshal’s office, so we’re good to go there,” he said.

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Mack was approached last year by village officials on the possibility of consolidating the department with Eddy County's fire services.

“The Village of Loving pretty much shut it (fire department) down,” Mack said.

“Our recommendation is to consolidate the Loving Volunteer Fire Department with Eddy County Fire District Otis to increase membership and response times. Response wise, the County pretty much has covered everything for Loving.”

At one time Loving’s fire department had 12 members, according to Mack.

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In order give Eddy County a greater presence in the Loving village limits, Mack recommends the county take over Loving Fire Station No. 2 and all the contents in it.

“Station 2 has a tanker which we’ve got it pretty well prepared,” he said. “They’ve got a command truck that is in decent shape (and) they have a rescue truck out at the (Eddy County Fire Services) office that we’ve been working on and almost got it repaired.

“We’ve almost got their engine completely out of there and we’ve put one of our reserve engines from the office, because that engine has been rolled and semi repaired. So, it’s not necessarily safe.”

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District 5 Commissioner Susan Crockett asked Mack if the City of Carlsbad’s Fire Department could aid Loving.

Mack said that while the possibility exists, Carlsbad City Administrator Michael Hernandez worried about the additional burden in employees and overhead such a move would require. 

Estimates put the cost of Carlsbad fire and emergency covering calls in the Village of Loving at $3.5 million, which would be split between Eddy County, the City of Carlsbad and the Village of Loving. 

“It’s about $3.5 million they want to split three ways, so the County would pay a portion of that as well. I don’t know it that’s something we want to get into because that’s a long-term commitment to employees," Mack said.

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“In my opinion I don’t know if that’s the best route to go. We can look at that, it’s an option. In my opinion it should be City of Carlsbad’s not Eddy County’s responsibility.”

Mack is expected to make a presentation on the subject to the Loving Village Council Sept. 9.

Members of Loving’s Village Council did not respond to requests for comment.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMicahe on Twitter.