TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Tucson Fire Department (TFD) responded to nearly 50,000 incidents in the first six months of 2026 — an average of 275 every day.
That number is about 8,000 fewer incidents than the same period last year. Assistant Fire Chief Paul Moore said they attribute the decrease to operational changes made within TFD.
"We've changed to where we have a paramedic on almost every unit we have on the department, which means that we can just send one instead of multiple units, do assessment, treat on scene, and determine if you need to go to the hospital or not," Moore said.
He said it has been in the works for about two years.
The department has also introduced a telehealth option called MD Ally.
"When the call comes in to our 911 dispatch center, they take the call. They listen to what you're saying, and they may offer this option that you talk to a doctor via telehealth, which prevents our fire trucks from going on unnecessary calls, prevents visits to the ER that aren't necessarily needed," Moore said.
With 22 fire stations throughout Tucson, firefighters and first responders stay very busy.
"Sleep is a rare commodity, I'll say that," Moore said."
Of the nearly 50,000 incidents, almost 44,000 were EMS-related and about 5,900 were non-EMS incidents.
"We go to a lot of calls that are called man down, which is basically somebody's in the community, in the environment that we're not exactly sure what happened to them," Moore said. "Some of our calls when it comes to our acute calls, a lot of them are cardiac or respiratory related. Those are the ones that, you know, are more serious that we want to get to quickly."
TFD responded to just over 3,000 fire-related calls in the first half of the year, including 75 structure fires, 321 brush fires and 113 outside fires.
"What I can tell you is that we have had two fatality fires this year. The messaging there is make sure you have a working fire alarm, smoke alarm. That's the most imperative piece. Make sure you have an exit plan and a clear path to get out of your home," Moore explained.
According to TFD, the total units dispatched from January 1 through June 30 is 76, 016, almost 19,000 less than last year. The busiest engine is EN045 with 2,233 dispatches and the busiest station is Station 9 with 5,576 incidents and 8,322 total unit dispatches.
"Engine Station 9, that's my old alma mater, at 22nd and Wilmot. It's also our largest station. It has a lot of response units, a lot of call volume in that area. Engine 45 is our single busiest unit. It's over off of Grant and Alvernon area. That's just a very densely populated area and busy area as well," Moore said.
He admits the calls time are struggling a bit.
"We're in the nine minute range. We should be about five minutes and 20 seconds for most of our call types, so we're making efforts," Moore said.
He said sharing these numbers with the community reflects the department's commitment to transparency and improvement.
"I think it's important because we're ever evolving. The landscape of fire and EMS is changing, and we're keeping up with that. So we're trying different things to improve our service delivery," Moore said.
Moore adds that current staffing levels are not where the department wants them to be and encourages people to consider joining TFD.
"We do a dangerous hard job. Recruitment is always a struggle for us, and retention is sometimes difficult. So we're always working towards making sure that we're taking care of our folks. We have a good benefit package, good pay package," Moore said.
"We've got a recruit class out there right now with over 40 people, and we've got another one teed up for early February. And in fact that solicitation goes out August 1st. So keep an eye out for it."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
