Back in 2008 the Tucson Fire Department said they had 673 firefighters, but now they have 645.
“We are operating beyond capacity right now,” said TFD Fire Chief Chuck Ryan.
Ryan worked with city leaders and the Tucson Police Department on the things that would have been included in Prop 414, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase. However, it didn’t pass. Over $24 million would have been allocated to TFD over ten years if it had.
“The needs exceed the revenues," Ryan said. "Even if the half-cent sales tax had passed, we would still need more.”
He said the proposition would have helped with recruitment.
“Right now they are overtaxed and overburdened so we have to get some of the burden off of them,” he said about his firefighters.
$15 million also would have gone towards TFD's Public Safety Training Academy, which is used for all recruit academy training, certification courses, continuing education and promotional processes.
“A city of Tucson’s size and call volume really needs 740 to 780 firefighters and I’ve been consistent in that message,” Ryan said.
The Tucson Fire Department says their emergency calls have gone up 60% since 2008. In order to help ease the call load, TFD would have also gotten $12 million over ten years for an infill station on the Northside.
“We have to separate non or lower acuity calls from high acuity calls,” the chief said.
He said that starts with referring callers to the City of Tucson’s 311 non-emergency services and telehealth services. It’s something they’ve already started doing.
Now he’s making a plan with his team and is also going to talk with the mayor and city council.
Clayton Black, the Tucson Firefighters Association’s president, said he already talked to the mayor. He’s also hoping to talk to the No on Prop 414 Coalition and firefighters in his union who voted no. He’s hoping to get insight on how they can compromise on more money for the fire department.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero also signaled on social media that she’s hoping to hear what the No on Prop 414 Coalition has to say in terms of solutions.
Meanwhile, Ryan is assuring Tucsonans that the TFD is going to continue to serve them professionally and proudly. He’s also assuring his firefighters he’s going to continue to work on the issue.
“Hope is not lost," he said. "We’re working on it, but it’s going to take a little bit longer.”
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
