Two Albuquerque Firefighters Risked Their Own Safety to Assist a Young Man

On Tuesday Oct. 22, Captain Collado and Firefighter Criswell were out on the back patio working of the fire station, when they overheard a car stop suddenly.

They heard a man yell out, “Did you hit my car?” When Criswell looked over the fenced area he noticed a young man standing opposite another man holding a knife. 

Criswell shouted to the armed man, “Put down the knife or we are going to call the cops.” Collado ran out of the fenced area to get the armed man’s license plate information, but the offender ran back to his car and sped off.

The young man, who indicated that he was a local college student, told Captain Collado and Firefighter Criswell that if they hadn’t gotten involved, he believed the offender would have stabbed him.

“Because Firefighter Criswell and Captain Collado were courageous enough to intervene in this dangerous situation, a violent confrontation was avoided and no one was hurt. The outcome could have much worse,” said Mayor Berry.

Captain Richard Collado has worked for the Albuquerque Fire Department for over 21 years and Firefighter Gabe Criswell has been with AFD for the last 8 years.