TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Starting this month, South Tucson is navigating its fire department operations with fewer reserve firefighters.
Both Santa Rita and Drexel Heights Fire Districts recently enacted new policies preventing their firefighters from working in other jurisdictions.
South Tucson City Manager Veronica Moreno explained at a recent council meeting.
“They adopted a policy basically disallowing their firefighters to work at outside agencies for reasons having to do with liability and carcinogens that they’re exposed to.”
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Both districts pulled a total of 12 firefighters from the reserve program. Two reserves were hired last month, which means the department has 30 reserves.
In an effort to continue providing services without interruption, South Tucson struck up an emergency deal with the City of Tucson last month.
Starting July 1, the Tucson Fire Department will respond to all fire suppression calls in South Tucson for $25,000 a month. Tucson City Council recently approved the change to the pre-existing mutual aid agreement.
The future of the reserve program remains unclear as the city searches for a long-term solution. The South Tucson Public Safety Director, Danny Denogean, shared at the recent council meeting how staffing issues persist.
On June 23, the department did not have coverage for five hours and received help from AMR and Tucson Fire.
“In spite of our challenges, we continue to serve this community with no interruption,” said Moreno.
The South Tucson City manager says the fire department is fully staffed this upcoming holiday weekend, which has been an issue in the past.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
