Albuquerque firefighters train for cave rescues in New Mexico caves

Albuquerque Fire Rescue spent the weekend in Cibola County training for the kind of call that can turn dangerous fast: a stranded or injured explorer deep inside a cave system, far from roads and quick help. The two-day course, led by the National Cave Rescue Commission at El Malpais National Monument and the El Malpais National Conservation Area, brought together 14 instructors and 31 participants from Albuquerque Fire Rescue, other emergency agencies, volunteer search and rescue teams and members of New Mexico’s caving community.

The exercise focused on the basics that matter most underground. Crews worked on first aid, communication, patient transport and technical rescue in confined cave environments, while also learning how to limit damage to fragile cave resources during a rescue. That balance is central at El Malpais, a nationally significant volcanic landscape established in 1987 to protect geological, archaeological, ecological, cultural, scenic, scientific and wilderness resources. It is also the kind of remote terrain where hikers, spelunkers and cave explorers can get in trouble far from easy access.

Sarah Truebe, the National Cave Rescue Commission’s regional coordinator, said cave rescues are especially difficult because the spaces are large and travel times are long. “Caves themselves are often very large underground spaces with extended travel times, so you may not be able to get resources that you request for many hours,” she said. Truebe said there are usually one to two cave rescues a year between Arizona and New Mexico, but crews handled six last year, a reminder that even rare incidents can spike without warning.

For Bernalillo County, the training fits a broader readiness strategy. Albuquerque Fire Rescue’s Training Academy says it exists to provide and facilitate training that maximizes preparedness for community emergency needs, and it oversees Safety, Technical Rescue, Hazardous Materials and Wildland Training Programs. Statewide, the New Mexico Firefighters Training Academy was created in 1987 and opened in Socorro in January 1989, and it trains about 4,000 first responders each year while offering technical rescue courses. Truebe said the next National Cave Rescue Commission course is planned for October in central New Mexico, extending a network of specialized training that prepares crews for rescues most people never see, but local responders must be ready to carry out.