The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management broke ground on a new dispatch center three times bigger than the current facility this month. Officials say the new center will increase efficiency and benefit residents across the state.
Arizona Dispatch Center Manager Michael Hale said the new center will be critical for Arizona as wildfire seasons continue to get longer.
It will provide a "technologically-advanced workspace" that will improve communications with wildland firefighters, agency command staff and nationwide cooperators.
"Fire staff will see weather, resource allocation, availability, smoke detection camera live feeds, and so much more as soon as they enter the dispatch floor," Hale said in a press release. "This will make dispatching much more efficient and timelier."
Tiffany Davila, the agency’s public affairs officer, says the new facility will be used as a command center for Arizona wildfires.
"It's been a long time coming to have the new facility, and it will greatly enhance our capabilities for communication purposes, for wildfire suppression efforts and overall public safety for all Arizonans," Davila said.
Construction for the center will cost the department $4.2 million — funding that it received from the state legislature in 2021.
After the Mescal and Telegraph wildfires, the state Legislature proposed House Bill 2001, attempting to distribute $100 million for repairs, mitigation and upgrades to equipment.
ADDFM received $10 million and has been using it for resources and projects such as this new dispatch center, according to Davila.
"It'll benefit our cooperators," Davila said. "We work closely with the Forest Service. We work closely with the Bureau of Land Management, our Bureau of Indian Affairs, partners (and) the county emergency management. We're all connected to this system."
Construction on the center should be complete by October. The new facility will be across the street from the current building, Davila said.
Davila also said the department will continue to stay resourceful as construction continues.
"We're always prepared,” Davila said. “We have funding to support our resources, to support our fire departments, our fire districts when we make the call to them to help us on an incident. At the end of the day, we're always proactive."
