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Firefighters urge funding to reduce 9‑minute response times; public commenters back TPT increase
Summary
Multiple Phoenix firefighters and retired personnel told a budget hearing that response times have lengthened to about nine minutes, cited equipment-age and call‑volume increases, and urged council to use budget resources to add stations, apparatus and personnel.
Several current and former Phoenix firefighters used a District 6 budget hearing to press for more city funding for fire stations, equipment and staffing, saying slower emergency response times endanger residents.
Alex Rangel, a retired fire captain and District 6 resident, commended the council for its March 18 action to support firefighters and said the city needs additional staff to lower response times. “I wanna applaud you for that. And I also want to that understand that the public to support that, and so far as you have vision in light of a 9 minute response time,” Rangel said.
Several active firefighters described worsening operational conditions. A speaker who identified himself as Scott, a firefighter-paramedic with 27 years of service, described long-term staffing pressures and urged support for hiring and equipment. Richie Robnett, a captain with the Phoenix Fire Department, said response times have grown from about 4 minutes 20 seconds in 1987 to roughly nine minutes today and linked that increase to population growth and equipment shortfalls. “We need more fire stations. We need more firefighters. We need more trucks,” Robnett said.
Speakers at the hearing cited citywide growth and fleet age as drivers of demand: testimony included a city growth figure of about 300,000 people since 2015 and an asserted 54% increase in call volume (public comments). One speaker said roughly 65% of apparatus had passed replacement age and that about 25% of the time the closest truck is unavailable because it is already on a call. The video presentation accompanying the hearing also identified use of excise tax proceeds and other budget strategies to finance public-safety capital projects, including two new fire stations and additional apparatus.
Public commenters said recent investments have not yet met the need. The hearing record includes a reference that Fire Station 62 opened in February 2025; speakers said four stations are slated under a voter-approved bond, but three are rebuilds rather than new stations to serve growth. Several speakers urged the council to maintain or increase funding and supported the transaction-privilege tax rate change referenced by staff as a revenue source for these priorities.
No formal vote on new fire-department appropriations was taken at this hearing; speakers’ statements and the trial-budget presentation were submitted as public input for council consideration.
