AHWATUKEE, AZ — The rapidly growing community of Ahwatukee is getting a new fire station, something residents have been asking the City of Phoenix for quite some time.
"What happens when it's your kids that get in a car wreck? It's scary, and it's even more scary knowing that you're going to wait a while for personnel to arrive," said Moses Sanchez an Ahwatukee resident.
Phoenix fire acknowledged the delay in response times, especially in the western portion of Ahwatukee. Officials shared that with the City of Phoenix during a city council meeting this past fall.
"The Valley is continuing to grow. Obviously, you know, we have the new freeway there that generates calls," said Capt. Joe Huggins, Phoenix Fire Department.
Data from September shows the average response time there is 6 minutes and 41 seconds. The national standard is 5 minutes and 20 seconds, set by the National Fire Protection Association.
"In the case of a fire, minutes count because that fire can spread. In the case of some type of medical emergency, say a heart attack, those minutes count," said Capt. Huggins.
Mayor Kate Gallego, Councilman Sal DiCiccio, and the city manager listened to those concerns and secured funding in the 2023-2024 capital budget.
Fire Station 74 will be built at 19th Avenue and Chandler Boulevard.
The City of Phoenix already owns the land, which will make the process quicker. The fire station is estimated to be up and running within the next two and a half years, roughly 13,000 square feet with three bays, a fire engine, and medical rescue.
The new station will sit against the South Mountain Preserve, next to where Todd Holtrop lives.
"It will be a little more comfort yes because there's a lot of families out here and a lot of people that do these hikes," said Holtrop, Ahwatukee resident.
This will be the fourth fire station for Ahwatukee.
The western portion is currently being served by two stations located farther away.
Last May, ABC15 spoke to residents who were taking action themselves while waiting for first responders to arrive.
It's something, they say, they will continue to do.
"As soon as a car wreck happens, you'll get three or four different residents from the four corners out there... making sure everybody is okay, directing traffic," says Sanchez.
