Michael Freiberg, president of the Professional Firefighters of Arizona and an active fire captain, told the ad hoc committee that a majority of Arizona’s fire districts are understaffed and cannot meet the growing demands of wildfire season.

“We are not prepared for it,” Freiberg said. He told lawmakers that roughly 92% of Arizona fire districts have firefighting vacancies and that, over the next five years, the state will need about 1,000 additional firefighters just to replace current shortfalls.

Freiberg described structural funding limits that have left many fire districts operating on budgets equivalent to 2015 levels. He pointed to Proposition 117 (the 2012/2016 cap on secondary property tax increases referenced in testimony) and to a failed ballot measure (referred to in testimony as Proposition 310) that firefighters supported but voters narrowly rejected in 2022. Freiberg said many districts operate apparatus with fewer than the national recommended four personnel per engine and that mandatory overtime, equipment shortages and long apparatus build times worsen operational risk.

Committee members and witnesses described operational consequences: districts staffed at two people per apparatus face higher injury risk and reduced capability for concurrent incidents, and rural districts are disproportionately dependent on mutual aid from neighboring jurisdictions. Freiberg said that, while recent appropriations (including a $10 million state program for apparatus grants) have helped, one‑time funding is insufficient to solve persistent staffing and replacement needs.

Lawmakers discussed options including statutory changes to allow districts greater taxing flexibility, targeted appropriations, and other funding mechanisms. Several county supervisors and local chiefs who spoke during the hearing said rural voters would consider supporting sustained funding if they understood the wildfire and insurance risks. Committee chair Dave Marshall said the ad hoc would continue hearings in Payson, Coconino and Prescott and that lawmakers would pursue further information and proposals.

Freiberg urged lawmakers to treat frontline staffing and district capacity as a top priority, saying that stronger local capability reduces the need for state or federal surge resources, lowers suppression costs and shortens response times when fires start.