Tijuana’s Municipal Civil Protection office stationed a permanent, round-the-clock ambulance in the Santa Fe neighborhood on Monday, April 20. The fully equipped unit is based at Fire Station No. 12 and will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Municipal Government Secretary Arnulfo Guerrero León delivered the ambulance, fulfilling a commitment Mayor Ismael Burgueño Ruiz made during a community meeting with Santa Fe residents. Civil Protection Director José Luis Jiménez González confirmed the unit is fully operational and staffed around the clock.
Filling a Gap in Emergency Response
Santa Fe, a densely populated area in eastern Tijuana along the road to Tecate, has long struggled with slow emergency response times. Heavy traffic during peak hours regularly delays ambulances trying to reach or leave the district. Before this deployment, residents had to wait for units dispatched from more distant stations.
The need for closer pre-hospital care in Santa Fe is not new. In December 2024, the Mexican Red Cross reopened its own ambulance base in the same area after a spike in traffic accidents. Alberto Quintanar, director of the Tijuana Red Cross branch, said at the time that emergency call volumes in Santa Fe had climbed significantly. That Red Cross base became one of 11 such facilities across Tijuana.
Municipal Investment Adds Another Layer
The new municipal ambulance at Fire Station No. 12 adds a second permanent emergency resource in Santa Fe, separate from the Red Cross operation. The city’s Civil Protection system and the Red Cross run independent fleets but often coordinate responses, particularly in high-traffic corridors.
Tijuana’s Red Cross has reported an annual operating deficit of 6 to 7 million pesos (roughly $330,000 to $390,000 USD) in recent years. The addition of a city-funded ambulance in Santa Fe could ease some of the demand on the nonprofit’s stretched resources.
For residents who need emergency help, the key numbers remain 911 for general emergencies and 066 for the Red Cross ambulance dispatch. The new municipal unit responds through the city’s Civil Protection coordination center.
This story was first reported by Punto Norte.