City, county establish emergency response plan for Project Ranger

RIO RANCHO — Responsibilities for emergency response to the Project Ranger site have been established by the city of Rio Rancho and Sandoval County.

In a memorandum of understanding finalized in recent weeks, Sandoval County Fire and Rescue will be the authority having jurisdiction while Rio Rancho Fire Rescue, as part of an existing automatic aid agreement from 2023, will be the primary first response agency for the site.

The purpose of the document, it states, is the “share a clear and consistent understanding of the responsibilities related to fire safety, emergency response, planning and coordination for the Project Ranger facility.”

“RRFR and SCFR have worked to establish a strong MOU that ensures the protection of not only the responding agency but surrounding community and Project Ranger staff,” RRFR Chief James Wenzel stated in a Tuesday email. “The MOU has also established clear expectations for all parties involved with the fire and life safety plan review, annual fire inspections and creation of Incident Action Plan.”

In the response plan, SCFR is required to provide assistance for incidents at the site upon request from RRFR. Additionally, when RRFR units are “committed” to an incident and Project Ranger, the county would be responsible for fire and EMS response within Rio Rancho city limits.

If there is a prolonged incident at the site, SCFR will relieve the RRFR units to allow the city’s department to “return to ordinary operations within city limits,” the document outlines, and calls for a “coordinated dual response” from both parties for large-scale, extended duration or complex incidents. Those incidents also require the parties to utilize the National incident Management System, including the Incident Command System principles, and Unified Command.

However, when it comes to review and approval of building plans, the Construction Industries Division holds authority, according to the document. When it comes to “fire and life safety plans,” — including variance requests — the document states that they are to be reviewed and approved but the New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office and that SCFR will coordinate with the state “to ensure that the parties are both full and material participants in the plan review process.”

It also outlines that the county will coordinate with Project Ranger, the fire marshal, SCFR and RRFR for all plan reviews to ensure they are “inclusive, timely and comprehensive.” 

“In the event a dispute arises relating to review or approval of life safety plans between parties, the parties agree they will meet and confer in good faith to reach a mutually agreed upon outcome,” the document reads. “If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the parties agree to seek State FMO guidance and will defer to the State FMO.” It also adds that all fire and life safety plans related to Project Ranger are to be shared with the state fire marshal, SCFR and RRFR representatives.

The MOU also puts the responsibility of fire code review and enforcement with Sandoval County or the State Fire Marshal’s Office, with the county fire marshal responsible for enforcing any needed corrective actions and notifying RRFR with documentation of any such issues.

The agreement also calls for SCFR and RRFR to meet once a month through August to develop, review, revise and approve a site safety pre-incident plan. It states that RRFR will take the lead on establishing the plan and have final approval with SCFR participating in the process. It also notes that the departments, along with the Project Ranger team are to develop a comprehensive incident action plan that emergency managers for both the city and county will participate in. “The IAP shall require that any large-scale incident be managed in accordance with the National Incident Management System, including the use of Incident Command Systems principles and Unified Command,” the document reads. “The IAP shall identify coordination mechanisms for additional entities such as law enforcement agencies, utilities, emergency operations centers and other supporting partners.”

The document is also a precursor to the release of up to $1 million the city committed to the expansion of Paseo del Volcan within city limits — which will eventually lead to the Project Ranger site 3 miles west of Rio Rancho — during a November Governing Body meeting. Sandoval County Manager Wayne Johnson said Wednesday that they are “ready to proceed” with that expansion following the legislative session, noting that it is now fully funded.

The memorandum of understanding regarding the Project Ranger emergency response plan will remain in effect as long as the automatic aid agreement is in place for that part of Sandoval County, it states.

“The emergency response plan is something our agencies will develop and coordinate with Castelion and NM State FMO as the site grows closer to completion,” Wenzel said.