By Fiona de Young
With continued growth and construction around Vail, emergency responders must continually assess risks and evaluate how these changes impact our response.
The bridge work at Wentworth Road, Highway 83, and future work zones at Houghton Road, spurred two fire Captains into action. With bridge improvements impacting north-south access, they wanted to make sure responders are still on the scene as quickly as possible, something that is crucial to creating safe outcomes. Safe and modern roads are no doubt invaluable to public safety and smooth traffic, but they wanted to plan ahead for emergencies during construction.
To ensure speedy response times in the East I-10 Corridor, these personnel initiated an integrated response, known as a dual dispatch zone, which dispatches both agencies to cover the area.
“We are working together to make sure the public receives the same standard of service,” said Fire Chief Jayme Kahle. “We are proud of our personnel for initiating this community partnership.”
Partnerships are often critical to strong public safety networks. Coming from Vail, RVFD has a good point of access to I-10 West. From their Easternmost Station 19, TFD has quick access to I-10 East. The first agency on the scene will conduct incident command, and determine what additional resources are needed.
“Nothing in the fire service is done alone,” says Michael Colaianni, Public Information Officer for the Tucson Fire Department. “Partnerships like these help keep everyone safer and allow us to provide first-class emergency services while strengthening the ties between our departments.”
