By Paul Maryniak/Ahwatukee Foothills News
Mayor Kate Gallego made a pretty much bullet-proof declaration Oct. 18 as she greeted about 100 guests attending the groundbreaking for Fire Station 74 near the western end of Ahwatukee.
“It might just be the prettiest fire station in Phoenix,” she said.
With a breathtaking view of mountains and the Preserve, no one sitting on a patch of the 7.75 acres on W. Chandler Boulevard near 19th Avenue could argue.
Indeed, noted Gerald Adams, director of commercial development for Perlman Architects, later in the ceremony: “We have about 7.75 acres of land. We only developed about 3 ½ and change to keep this pristine view as open, as natural as possible.”
Though the 1,100 houses that will be popping up in less than two years across the boulevard in the sprawling Upper Canyon development might alter that view to a degree, the fire station means far more to Ahwatukee than a place with a nice view for firefighters.
From the time it opens roughly a year from now, it will rank among the most advanced public safety facilities in Phoenix – and likely anywhere in Arizona.
As Gallego, Councilman Kevin Robinson, Fire Chief Mike Duran III, U.S. Rep Greg Stanton and other speakers noted, Ahwatukee’s fourth fire station will not only improve emergency response times for all those Upper Canyon residents as well as those in Club. West, Foothills Reserve and Ahwatukee Promontory at Foothills West.
It will also beef up the city’s overall network of 58 fire stations as one of six new facilities that will be built over the next six years, including several funded by the $500 million General Obligation bond issue voters overwhelmingly approved last year.
With three bays, the 13,000-square-foot facility will house a fire engine, medical rescue and 23 firefighters. It also will provide a landing pad for a rescue helicopter.
“It will have some of the best response times in the Valley,” Gallego said. “It is also a strategic placement. It will help us make sure our mountains are safer. Mountain rescues are a part of service at the City of Phoenix, and we’ll be able to do it more effectively. There will be helicopter service in this area so that we can get people from our beautiful parks to health care, should they need it, although we certainly hope that they will not so.
“It’s a really exciting time for Ahwatukee with growing opportunities, new restaurants, new housing and new street safety program, as well as parks upgrades,” she said, adding:
“Our firefighters do incredible work, and we’re so appreciative of our partners in building a first-class statement station. It will be designed with safety in mind, including making sure we have the very best in cancer prevention, which is a priority for us at the City of Phoenix.”
Duran noted, “Fire station 74 is not just a new building, it’s a vital addition to public safety infrastructure. It will include an all-hazards paramedic engine company, a one-in-one rescue which means we have one paramedic and one EMT and RRS (Rapid Response System) per ambulance.”
“Fire Station 74 will be one of the most advanced facilities in our city, built with today’s needs and future growth in mind,” the fire chief continued. “The station will feature state-of-the-art technology and energy-efficient equipment, allowing our firefighters and paramedics to serve this community with the highest levels of readiness and professionalism.”
“It will be built with the safety, health and well-being of our firefighters in mind,” Duran said. “From improved living quarters to the latest in decontamination facilities, our members deserve the best, and this station will give them the tools and the environment they need to continue their life saving work in the safest, most effective way possible.”
He also noted, “Fire Station 74 will be more than just a place where we house firetrucks. It will be a true community hub, offering safety programs, fire prevention education and a space where the public can engage with the fire department.
“We want this station to be a place where the community feels welcome for the relationships between firefighters and residents grow.”
Duran also assured hikers, “As we develop the site for this future fire station, we are also working in tandem with our partners in the Parks Department to maintain to develop a new trailhead.”
Noting that Perlman Architects has designed over 100 public safety projects, Adams said the station will have 13 gender-neutral restrooms, three of which are designated for captains, a fitness-exercise conditioning area and "all the work and living spaces required for a fire station."
“The design items we are most proud to present,” he said, “are the holistic, healthy-building design elements and sustainable design principles incorporated into this facility – highly efficient energy, HVAC, electrical, plumbing systems.
“We’re saving dollars from the day we move in,” he continued. “It will be super-quiet inside for the rest and relaxation of the firefighters so they can get back to saving lives and doing the things they do best.”
“We are addressing the cancer mitigation within the station from the very second the firefighters return to the station all the way through their sleeping quarters and back out,” he said, adding the station will provide enhanced decontamination, natural light, ventilation, control of alerting and building systems.
“Each firefighter will have control of one individual space within the facility,” Adams said.
As Gallego noted, the deal that she and former Councilman Sal DiCiccio cut last year with City Manager Jeff Barton for the $12 million facility also provided immediate hiring and training for the firefighters who will man the station so that by the time it opens, likely late next year, Fire Station 74 will be fully operational from Day One.
The deal the three officials hatched was a stark turnaround from what another Fire Department official told the Ahwatukee Foothills Village Planning Committee in June 2022.
Back then, Executive Assistant Fire Chief Scott Walker said there was no funding for a fourth station in Ahwatukee for at least three years.
Stanton, who secured a $1 federal million grant for the fire station’s construction, praised firefighters and said the federal funding was well-deserved as the volume of emergency calls for help has increased by 50% over the last decade.
“Today is a great day for the people of Ahwatukee Foothills, all of the city of Phoenix, and, because we share resources with fire around the Valley, a great day for the entire Valley of the Sun,” he said.