SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday ordered state flags to half-staff in mourning for Janet Tracy, a volunteer firefighter in Sierra County who was killed Tuesday in an apparent accident on duty.
According to New Mexico State Police, Tracy, 59, was providing aid to a crash victim south of Truth or Consequences on Tuesday afternoon when she was struck by fire apparatus driven by a fellow volunteer. She reportedly sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead on the scene.
“I’m shaken by this horrific incident,” said Gov. Lujan Grisham. “Volunteer firefighters are an essential component of the health and safety of so many New Mexico communities. The work they do is selfless and often life-saving. Janet Tracy was a New Mexican who stepped up to serve her community – and we are grateful to her for her service and to those like her, answering the call of service in towns and villages all throughout New Mexico, every single day. My prayers are with her wife, Anita, and their children.”
Flags are ordered to half-staff beginning Friday, July 23, through sundown Sunday, July 25, to correspond with a planned funeral procession in Sierra County.