Long before college basketball fans giddily proclaimed its “madness,” Shakespeare warned of the dangers this month holds.
Finding a middle ground between the two extremes, Scottsdale is quietly celebrating “the rides of March.”
On this day some 2,070 years ago, after Roman senators sank their daggers in him, Julius Caesar certainly could have used what Scottsdale residents and visitors enjoy: a swift ambulance ride.
While Scottsdale politicians may privately trade allegations of “back stabbing,” two years ago this March, Scottsdale City Council came together to fuel an ambitious plan by Scottsdale Fire Chief Shannon.
His ask, if this was a modern-day interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” post-assisnation monologue:
“Friends, citizens, councilmen and -women, lend me your confidence.”
Accepting the invitation for a leap of faith, the local “senate” approved and bankrolled Shannon’s ambitious plan to transition from a private ambulance system to one operated by the Scottsdale Fire Department.
“Phase One” of a three-year plan began nine months later.
So how are things going?
On the financial end, “We are pretty much on track with projections,” Shannon told the Progress last week.
According to Scottsdale Fire Department Chief Tom Shannon, the first phase of SFD’s new ambulance service is “on track.”
(File photo)
Of utmost importance, he stressed as the department is in the early phases of the second phase of “Operation Ambulance Rollout,” the system is running even better than expected.
He points to what everyone who dials 911 is anxious about: response time.
The state-issued “Certification of Necessity” demanded specific arrival times for medical 911 calls.
“We’re beating the response time (requirements) – by far,” Shannon said.
“That tells me we have the right number of resources for the call volume.”
In his March 2024 speeches to City Council, Shannon praised the private ambulance company that served Scottsdale for 20 years – but his plan also buries them.
“Maricopa Ambulance will sequentially phase out … as the city phases in our program,” the City Council presentation explained.
The first year of running its own ambulance service would cost the city about $900,000, Shannon told then-Mayor David Ortega and six City Council members.
After initial start up costs, the program could be “revenue neutral” – or even make a small profit – by year four, he added.
Two Ides of Marches later, Shannon’s take:
“Our program is on par with expectations and our forecasting is accurate for the coming phase.”
March 2024
Brian Joseph, one of Shannon’s battalion chiefs, was part of the 2024 presentation to City Council.
“Looking at gross revenue,” Joseph said, we’re looking at approximately $8.2 million … for Phase 1.”
The three phases don’t quite align with calendar years, as the SFD’s ambulance phases run December-November.
Two years after Joseph’s presentation, it looks like the actual billing comfortably topped it.
“Our gross charges in 2025 were just under $10 million,” Shannon said.
That doesn’t mean the city will receive the full amount, he noted.
“There’s contractual allowances, write offs and negotiations between private payers and things like that,” he said.
According to the March 2024 presentation, a consultant “estimated our (billing) recovery somewhere between 63 and 70%.”
As of September 2025, SFD billed just under $4.8 million, which was knocked down to just under $3 million by contractual allowances.
Of that, $1.8 million has been paid – though Shannon noted there can be long lag times from billing to payment.
One major item that was not included in the March 2024 presentation:
Fire Station 601 Ambulance Annex Expansion.
According to the city’s project website:
“Scottsdale Fire Department is expanding services in South Scottsdale to meet the growing demand for high-quality emergency medical care.
“To support the recently launched city-operated ambulance program an ambulance annex will be built adjacent to existing Fire Station 601 at 1901 N. Miller Road.”
The cost: $9.5 million.
Shannon provided more context: “We’re going to build – basically – a dormitory for the ambulance and a low acuity unit. It’s basically two bays. It’s actually a three-bay, but one of them is going to house a pickup truck.”
Why is this needed?
“We frankly just don’t have the space at the station.”
As for construction time, “They keep telling me eight to 10 months. I think they’re being a little bit optimistic.
“Our goal was the end of this calendar year to match the third and final phase implementation.”
Looking at the three-phase March 2024 projections, Shannon said the first two are very close.
Phase 1, listed as “one time expenses,” totaled $4.4 million, dominated by $1.6 million for ambulances. Related vehicles, equipment, personnel and overtime for fire academy training also factor in on the start-up costs.
The actual Phase 1 total was $1.1 million lower, according to Shannon.
The Phase 2 total of $3.5 million, including another $2.3 million for ambulances, is now projected to be $3.4 million.
But, where Phase 3 was projected to total $3.6 million, the new bottom line for the final rollout is $12.75 million – due to the aforementioned ambulance annex.
The Scottsdale Fire Department is nearing the halfway point of the three-year plan, which should be fully implemented by the end of 2027.
“We’ll have nine or 10 ambulances in place – depending on demand,” Shannon said.
Unlike the Waymos zipping around Scottsdale, those ambulances won’t be driving themselves.
As for staffing, SFD is adding “20 to 21 firefighters per phase,” Shannon said, “half of which are paramedics, half of which are basic life support personnel.
“They are all firefighters.”
If a Scottsdale Fire Department ambulance answers your call, it won’t be a “newbie” coming to get you, Shannon pledged.
“The folks that are on the ambulance must have been in their position for at least a year, so we don’t put the newest of the new on ambulances,” Shannon said.
“We’ll hire in August for Phase 3, but those Phase 3 people won’t see an ambulance for a year, because they have to rotate through the fire station and learn how to be a firefighter before they go on to the ambulance.”
The six SFD ambulances currently in place are running fast and frequently.
“We are right at about 18,000 or 20,000 transports a year,” Shannon said – meaning calls that result in someone being taken to a hospital.
And, though he stressed he is not knocking private ambulance companies, Shannon guarantees trained, experienced professionals are responding to SFD ambulance calls.
“Think of it as the ER coming to your house.”