The Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue is in the process of training 28 of its supervisors on a new incident management system called Blue Card.

“The Blue Card System standardizes our on scene communications and tactics, minimizing confusion during these stressful incidents and has been proven to create a safer, more consistent outcome for our Firefighters and the public we serve,” Rio Rancho Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Ryan Floersheim said.

The Blue Card Incident Command System was created by a retired Phoenix Fire Department chief in 2001 and has since been adopted by departments nationwide. This includes the Bernalillo County Fire Rescue and Albuquerque Fire Rescue, according to Floersheim.

All 28 of RRFR’s promoted captains and battalion chiefs attended a six-month online class prior to this month’s training. Two RRFR instructors went to Phoenix last December to obtain the training to return to the department, and over the past two weeks these instructors have taught the 28 supervisors how to use the system.

The training started on June 16 and will conclude on June 30. The system will go live in the city starting July 1.

“The adoption of the Blue Card Incident Command System is the single largest change to RRFR’s operations in the last 20 years, and a training of this magnitude has never been undertaken in our department,” Floersheim said.