Chief tries to revive department

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — New Puerco Valley Fire Chief Harvey Spencer is hoping to build his small department up and modernize its outdated equipment.

"We have 10 full-time staff," Spencer said. "I'd like to add four more."

But with a $350,000 budget, improvements are likely going to be slow in materializing for the Sanders, Ariz.-based fire crew.

Spencer retired after nearly 22 years with the Gallup Fire Department. He accepted the Puerco Valley position about five months ago.

Puerco Valley has three stations, each in serious need of some renovations.

"The department is so old that the bricks (in the buildings) are kind of cracked," Spencer said. "But what I'm really looking for, is to upgrade my equipment."

The department's water truck is a 1969 model, making the 19-year-old brush truck seem modern by comparison.

"We have three ambulances that are always in need of repair," Spencer said. The department finds it impossible to keep all three ambulances on the road at once.

The department covers about 2,500 square miles including nearly 2,000 people, Spencer said. It also has mutual aid agreements with other departments, including Ganado, St. John's, McKinley County and in the Holbrook area.

The majority of the department's calls are for emergency medical service, he said. Car crashes and emergency diabetic calls make up a large portion of the department's calls, Spencer said.

"We're trying to work with Lupton and Houck (chapters)," Spencer said.

Puerco Valley covers 53 miles along I-40, from Lupton to the Petrified Forest, Spencer said.

Hoping to build up its limited staff and resources, Spencer said he has been reaching out to other organizations in an effort to secure some aid.

Hope MacDonald-Lonetree, chairwoman of the Navajo Nation's Public Safety Committee, encouraged Spencer to aggressively pursue grants and more funding from New Mexico's McKinley County.

The Navajos would like to assist Puerco Valley, MacDonald-Lonetree said, but she wasn't sure how much help the tribe could be.

"We have a difficulty meeting the needs of our own people on Navajo," MacDonald-Lonetree said. "We can't even fund our own fire department right now."

— (John Christian Hopkins can be reached at 1-505-371-5443, or by email at Hopkins1960@hotmail.com.)