It’s been operational for a couple of months but on Saturday, May 30, a host of political leaders gathered to officially mark the opening of Ahwatukee’s newest fire station.
There were plenty of reasons to hold the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony May 30 even though the crew of 23 firefighters, a fire engine and rescue vehicle and even a rescue helicopter have called the 13,000-square-foot building on 7.5 acres home since March.
The biggest reason of all, as Councilman Kevin Robinson, noted, “This station is a lifesaver.”
“Currently, response times are averaging around 10 minutes. What this station will do is reduce that by at least five to six minutes, down to four or four and a half,” he said.
Indeed, with four fire stations, Ahwatukee is among the best protected villages in Phoenix, Mayor Kate Gallego noted previously.
On Saturday, Gallego praised U.S. Rep Greg Stanton for securing a $1 million grant to help fund the fire station as well as the Democratic LD 12 delegation for their help in another matter not directly related to the facility but rather to the men and women who man it.
She touted the $50 million investment Phoenix is making for ASU Health, which will house Arizona State University’s John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering on the Phoenix Bioscience Core in downtown.
Gallego said Sen. Mitzi Epstein, and Reps. Patty Contreras and Stacey Travers helped stop an effort to sweep funds designated for the medical facility.
“We’re building a new medical school that will partner with the city of Phoenix on really important issues, including fighting cancer in the fire service,” Gallego said. “We have more than 130 of our firefighters who have had occupational cancer.”
Hours after he became a grandfather, City Manager Ed Zuercher also addressed the standing-room-only crowd of firefighters and nearby residents.
Zuercher gave a nod to his predecessor, Jeff Barton, who had agreed when Gallego and former Councilman Sal DiCiccio approached him with the request to fund the station and make sure money was in the budget to train a cadre of firefighters who would be ready to occupy it as soon as it was built.
A crowd that included some nearby residents gathered Saturday at Fire Station 74 to hear speakers discuss its impact on Ahwatukee.
(Spenser Lee/Staff Photographer)
The fire station provides a much-needed layer of fire protection for the still growing western portion of Ahwatukee, where 1,100 homes and over 300 apartments are going up on the Upper Canyon development not far from the new facility.
Moreover, the fact a helicopter is situated at the station, means mountain rescues will be faster.
“This is your fire station. This is the community’s fire station,” Fire Chief Mike Duran III said in explaining the importance of that additional protection.
He lauded the mayor and council for “the unceasing support of our Fire Department, our projects and, most important of all, our members.”
“This project required the collaboration of many city departments – city engineering, planning and development, parks, finance, real estate, our fire facilities team, and firefighters, along with our partners at VFL Construction and Perlman Architects,” Duran said.
He also praised Deputy City Manager Cynthia Aguilar and Parks and Recreation Director Marty Whitfield for their help in ensuring that the facility would not mar the natural beauty surrounding it.
“From the very beginning, the Parks Department was at the table with us talking when we were designing this fire station, helping to design the rehabilitation of the trailhead, and ensuring the community could continue to enjoy South Mountain’s beautiful trails. Your collaboration allowed us to be harmful of building this station while preserving the access to the natural spaces that make this area so special.”
Fire Station 74 sits along Chandler Boulevard near 19th Avenue amid mountain views, prompting Mayor Kate Gallego at one time to say “it might just be the prettiest fire station in Phoenix.” Indeed, Police Chief Matt Giordano joked he may have to forbid his officers from going there lest they start demanding a police station in a similar setting.
(Spenser Lee/Staff Photographer)
Duran said the helicopter pad “is a first for us” and that it will allow “patients to be brought directly” from a mountain rescue ”to an awaiting ambulance for rapid transport to a hospital, improving outcomes and saving lives.”
Duran noted that “some of the most highly skilled professionals in high angle trail rescues, trench collapse, and many of the complex, complex responsibilities” are stationed at the facility.
“Given the popularity of the surrounding trails, this station was intentionally selected to be our next technical rescue partnership. Should any community member enjoying the trails ever need our assistance, this is one of the most highly trained crews” who will respond, he added.
Duran also called attention to high-tech gear aimed at giving better cancer protection to firefighters, who have a 14% higher risk of cancer deaths than the general population and a 9% higher risk of being diagnosed with the disease.
“Fire Station 74 represents collaboration, innovation, and commitment, but most importantly, it represents our promise to you that when you call, we will be there, ready, trained, equipped to serve,” Duran added.
Tim Gammage, vice president of IAFF Local 493 United Phoenix Firefighters, seconded Duran’s statements about effective mountain rescues.
He recalled how he once worked out of another Ahwatukee fire station and “we used to have a decent amount of mountain rescues. …Back then, unfortunately, the highly trained people that Chief Duran was speaking about had to come from the City of Chandler.
“Now your Phoenix firefighters will be able to do the job.”