Peoria: regional automatic-aid system sends nearest fire unit to 911 calls

Brady, a representative of Peoria Fire Medical, said the Phoenix Valleyregional "automatic aid" system dispatches the closest, most appropriate unit to 911 calls so callers get the resources they need as quickly as possible. "the system picks up, based on our location, the closest, most appropriate unit, the truck that you need to come to your house, and that's the truck that goes," Brady said.

The system routes calls through the Phoenix Regional dispatch center and can send Peoria, Glendale, Sun City or Phoenix units depending on which apparatus is nearest and appropriate. "So if you're in Peoria, it could be a Peoria truck, it could be a Glendale truck, Sun City," Brady said. "It's not about trying to get a certain truck there just because the name on the truck says Peoria. It's about getting the resources to the people that need it as fast as possible."

Officials described the practical difference between automatic aid and traditional mutual aid: with automatic aid, dispatch is handled centrally and sends resources automatically; with mutual aid in other regions, personnel often must place phone calls to request help. "A lot of places will go off of a mutual aid which sounds kind of similar. What that means is that people are actually having to pick up a phone and call other departments and ask for help," Brady said.

Brady gave a recent example to illustrate the system in action. He said a battery storage fire in South Peoria last month was "very labor intensive" and required hazmat units, multiple ladder trucks, command vehicles and drone teams; units from Phoenix, Glendale and Peoria responded. "We had trucks from Phoenix. We had trucks from Glendale. We had trucks from Peoria, ladder trucks from different cities. Glendale PD came and helped us with their drone team," Brady said.

Peoria officials said the automatic aid arrangement expands the city's practical access to apparatus and specialized teams beyond what any single municipality might keep on its own roster. They emphasized that the primary objective is reducing response time and matching the right resource to the incident, not which agencybrand appears on the vehicle.