In January of this year, we agreed to an automatic mutual aid agreement, which benefits the homeowners of each fire district by pooling our joint resources, said Rincon Valley Fire Chief Jayme Kahle, referencing an agreement between the Rincon Valley Fire District (RVFD) and the Corona de Tucson Fire District (CDTFD). “By working together in southeastern Pima County, we all benefit,” said Kahle. As an example, the RVFD expanded its ambulance transportation services to the Corona area in 2015.
The RVFD currently serves 20,000 residents over a 50 square mile area. Its two stations are staffed 24-hours a day, 365 days a year with 39 full-time state certified fire fighters that are Paramedics or Emergency Medical Technicians.
Chief Kahle came as chief of RVFD in 2012 after 25 years with Northwest Tucson replacing retiring Chief Karen Lundberg and has continued to grow the district ever since.
In 2015, RVFD drastically lowered its ISO rating from a 5/8 to a 3/3Y. ISO stands for Insurance Service Offices that rates the effectiveness of a fire department with one being the best and ten the worst. In 2016, the Arizona Department of Health Services granted the RVFD the designation of Premiere Provider. “We closely monitor the growth of the area to ensure that we can continue to provide quality services. Last year, we added one firefighter per shift to improve our effective response force. Rocking K Development recently annexed into the fire district and the influx of new residents will translate into the greater need of the fire district” Chief Kahle said.
While Chief Kahle is proud of the recognition RVFD has received under his leadership, he is quick to recognize the role of his leadership team. Administrative Manager Laura Buckin is invaluable with the complexities of operating a modern fire department and Logistics Manager Danny Lawson ensures that the facilities and various needed apparatus operate properly. We eliminated a single operations assistant chief and now deploy one battalion chief per shift to increase the number of emergency response personnel. Jacki Bisnar leads A-shift and our community risk reduction program; Eddie Cornejo leads B-shift and our training program; and Allen Yalen leads C-shift and our Emergency Medical Services, Chief Kahle explained. “I want to publicly thank these five leaders and all of our personnel that help us provide life-saving services to the public. Our folks all wear many hats and make it their mission to make Vail a safer place. At Rincon Valley, our focus is truly on the community,” Chief Kahle said.
