By Melissa Rosequist | Scottsdale Independent
Scottsdale Fire Chief Tom Shannon is not satisfied — nor are other municipalities, some say — with the level of partnership it was receiving from Rural Metro Fire Department, Inc., In response, a mutual aid agreement between the city and RMFD has been terminated after a Jan. 31 City Council vote.
Mutual aid agreements are a less-formal partnership where if one fire department requests help, another department may provide if resources are available.
However, Tim Soule, fire chief for Rural Metro Fire Central Arizona, says in a written letter that the decision to end the mutual aid agreement puts Scottsdale residents, neighboring communities and firefighters at a higher degree of risk. Soule also spoke publicly to Scottsdale City Council during a Jan. 31 meeting, prior to the scheduled vote on the item.
Officials claim that while Scottsdale Fire Department has been providing ongoing mutual aid to Rural Metro Fire Department since 2017, the favor is not being returned.
A third fire chief, Brian Tobin for Daisy Mountain, also spoke publicly about the RMFD, saying the issue at hand is not about the quality of service itself, but the politics surrounding multi-jurisdictional responses. Tobin gave public support to Shannon’s recommendation to cancel the agreement.
“Their history has not always been one that other fire departments can acknowledge as being helpful, their aid is not mutual,” said Tobin to the City Council. “Although their fire fighters work very hard, this is not about the fire fighters who work on the trucks — this is about the politics of responding to another jurisdiction and trying to share resources and try operating maneuvers and training with a department that doesn’t provide those back in exchange.”
On Jan. 31, the Scottsdale City Council approved a resolution terminating an agreement between the city and Rural Metro Fire Department, Inc.
Rural Metro’s history dates back to 1948, when the subscription-based fire service began. The company’s headquarters is based in Scottsdale.
According to the city’s history, the company was started when a house outside of city limits burned to the ground, because the fire department wasn’t allowed to respond outside municipal boundaries. Rural Metro serviced Scottsdale before Scottsdale Fire Department was established in the 2000s.
Rural Metro’s website shows they provide service to Cave Creek, Carefree, unincorporated Rio Verde, Fountain Hills and other Valley areas. Rural Metro Fire Station 826 is on Rio Verde Road, in north Scottsdale area, near 163rd Street.
Two other Rural Metro fire stations are in Scottsdale vicinity, with one on north Cave Creek Road, and another on east Shea Boulevard on the outskirts of Fountain Hills, just north of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Shannon says a large part of this issue is that the Town of Carefree utilizes Rural Metro Fire Department for its services, but relies on neighboring departments to assist when a large or complex problem occurs.
“I can assure you they have been well informed of the consequences of choosing a different type of fire service protection. For everyday run-of-the-mill type of incidents — any complex medical call or a single-dwelling fire requires essentially a pit crew around that incident doing very specific work and our friends at Rural Metro are simply too sparsely placed throughout the Valley to provide that,” Shannon said. “Which means they require assistance from their mutual aid partners. The frequency of that is what the data debates, but I can assure you it’s caused me enough concern to bring this forward.”
Scottsdale City Council voted 7-0 to terminate the agreement with RMFD.
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