Response Delayed in Tucson Shooting - 1 Fire Company Private with Shareholders

[RamboLiberal]

The nearest fire engine with medical responders never was called to the scene of the Jan. 8 mass shootings at Ina and Oracle roads.

The reason: It was a Rural/Metro firetruck, but the shootings occurred just across the street from its jurisdiction in Northwest Fire District territory.

No one is saying jurisdictional issues affected the medical outcomes of the shooting victims. The issue was with firetrucks and their on-board medical personnel only; Ambulances made it to the scene without problems because Southwest Ambulance, the company that provided the initial ambulances, can also dispatch Rural/Metro ambulances. Northwest Fire does not have ambulances.

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There's also a question of money. As a private, publicly traded corporation, Rural/Metro must always keep its shareholders' interests in mind, Caid said, and big expenses like revamping its communications system can hurt the company's bottom line.

http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_b80d179e-3fb9-5ec1-aa68-47284a144035.html

I'd like to hear from AZ Tucson DU'ers on this.

[boppers]

1. Rural Metro was pay-for-play when I lived there.

We made *certain* we paid them, so they'd bother with putting a fire out if one ever happened.

Oh, and this crap happened a lot at different boundaries, with city/county/private arguments over jurisdictions.

[beevul]

2. I didn't live in tuscon, I lived in Yuma,...but it was the same bunch.

I didn't live in tuscon, I lived in Yuma,...but it was the same bunch. Rural metro.

I can't count the number of times we saw the ambulance "lost" trying to find a residence.

This is also the same bunch that showed up with 13 vehicles and firetrucks, while we were cooking over an open fire in a well built firepit over 50 feet away from the house, in a yard that was entirely sand.

No vegetation.


Then tried to charge us 790 some dollars for it.