A Phoenix councilman is raising questions about fairness when it comes to fire and ambulance service.
Each City Council district has about 200,000 residents, but calls and response times vary.
During a recent public safety subcommittee meeting, District 2 Councilman Jim Waring said, “It just seems like we're not getting treated fairly.”
His district, which covers northeast Phoenix, averages the lowest number of calls for service and usually the longest response times for fire and paramedics.
According to Fire Department data between January and October 2024, the average ambulance response time for a critical EMS call in District 2 was 11 minutes and 36 seconds. Other districts averaged between 8 minutes and 39 seconds to 10 minutes and 19 seconds.
“Other districts in the city are getting to use much more of the service, and they're getting a way faster response, which is really the thing that matters in this game,” Waring said.
The department said it recently converted two part-time ambulances to full time which should improve response times in District 2.
According to the department, there were 14,163 total calls for fire and ambulance service in District 2 between January and October 2024. In District 4, there were 30,652 calls while District 8 had the highest number at 35,618.
“Maybe before we build more fire stations in some of these other areas, thereby, effectively, health wise, sort of almost disenfranchising the people in District 2, we might want to consider some other things besides just what was just discussed, because doing it that way, I guess District 2 will always be out of luck,” Waring said. “It's hard to keep just pouring money into these other areas and not see any kind of improvement in my own.”
Waring asked the Fire Department to provide data for what types of calls are being dispatched in different districts to understand what can be done to potentially reduce calls for service.
The city has plans to add six fire stations — none in Waring’s district.
“I definitely think there is going to be a component of, why do I pay taxes when so much of the services, not just in this area, are going somewhere else,” he said.
When determining where to build a new fire station, the department said it considers travel time, population density, projected growth and activity levels.
