The Corrales Fire Department will have a new tool to assist with the plethora of swift water rescues it has to respond to each year. CFD will become the first agency in Sandoval County with the ability to deploy an airboat after the customized vessel is completed by the Florida-based manufacturer over the next few weeks.
“The air boat will be an added tool in our toolbox, to assist with water rescues,” Corrales Fire Commander Tanya Lattin wrote in an email, adding that Albuquerque Fire and Bernalillo County, which do have airboats, aren’t always available. “The added airboat will help through the metro area and is the only one in the Sandoval County area. We look forward to on gong partnerships with area jurisdictions .”
The 16-foot airboat will cost the Village about $110,000, including a trailer and delivery.
The need for an airboat to assist with rescues of recreationalist – usually rafters, kayakers and innertubers – on the Rio Grande was discussed during several Village Council meetings last year.
A surge in the spring runoff from the northern mountains – coupled with people’s eagerness to escape the confinement of the pandemic – brought out recreationalists in large numbers. Siphon Beach in Corrales is a popular launch site. Inevitably, some get caught stranded on debris, like tree branches, or on small islands in the river and riverbanks.
Corrales emergency responders participated in approximately 80 water rescues on the river last year.
The airboat is custom ordered.
“When we ordered it, we gave the specifications of what we wanted,” Lattin said. “We picked the colors, added a platform to hold a pump for water for fires, we made the grass rake foldable to assist with getting in an out of the boat, we made sure storage was setup for our use and that our radio for communications will be installed. “
At the Jan. 23 Village Council meeting, the department requested a $2,300 allocation to cover the costs to send Deputy Chief Nick Molinari to Cocoa, Fla., to inspect the boat to make sure it meets specifications and get training.
According to the meeting packet, the airboat’s manufacturer, Diamondback Airboats, told the Village on Jan. 18 the boat should be ready for inspection by the end of the month.