Committee advances multi-year grant program to modernize incident management for firefighters

The House Appropriations Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 12-97, as amended, which would appropriate $6.5 million over three fiscal years to the Arizona Department of Administration to establish a fire incident management grant program.

Staff explained the Livingston amendment spreads the $6.5 million over FY2026–FY2028 (two years of $2.2 million and one year of $2.1 million) and requires annual reporting. Fire chiefs and deputy chiefs told the committee the grants would fund digital incident-management platforms that replace pen-and-paper accountability at scenes, improve information-sharing (including drone imagery) and scale from smaller house-fires to large multi-agency incidents. Deputy Fire Chief Eric Kepner of Glendale described the platforms as improving accountability and situational awareness; retired Phoenix division chief Mike Worrell said the tools help commanders “make sense of chaos” on complex scenes.

Officials said the grants would be competitive and include audit and return provisions for unused funds. Committee members generally supported the measure for public-safety reasons, though one member expressed concern about restricting how departments allocate funds and preferred local discretion. The committee adopted the amendment and reported SB 12-97 as amended with a due-pass recommendation by roll-call vote.