For years, the square-mile city of South Tucson has had a fire department in name that barely existed in practice.
It had one full-time fire captain and a legion of part-timers, many of them firefighters at other area departments who would pick up shifts on their days off. Often that wasn't enough, and the department was understaffed, leaving the Tucson Fire Department to respond to significant incidents.
"We were often left without coverage," South Tucson Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela said.
Firefighter Heather Sanchez puts on her helmet on her way to help with the inventory of hoses at the fire station on Feb. 11 in South Tucson. The city of South Tucson has a contract with Rural Metro Fire to provide 24-hour fire coverage after years without.
For now, that era is over.
After a consultant's report and bidding process last year, South Tucson contracted in December with Rural Metro Fire to provide staffing for its department at a cost of $1.9 million per year. The arrangement that began Feb. 1 means now South Tucson will have four firefighters on duty 24 hours per day.
At the Feb. 3 South Tucson City Council meeting, Rural Metro Fire Chief Karl Isselhard marveled at how quickly the deal came together and was careful to thank past South Tucson firefighters.
Firefighter Geraldo Pelayo helps check the hoses on one of the department’s old trucks at the South Tucson Fire station on Feb. 11.
"There's a legacy there, there's a history there, a culture we want to preserve. We're not here to make a new culture," he told the council.
Gesturing to a four-person crew in the audience, he noted that the firefighters working in South Tucson all responded to an internal bidding process within Rural Metro.
A shelf of hoses being inventoried at the South Tucson Fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson. The new crews are going through the staton getting it cleaned up and re-organized.
"The gentlemen you're seeing here tonight, the others that are here on other shifts, they all bid to be here. They want to be here. They were not forced," he said.
South Tucson also ended up with a new fire engine as part of the deal. Rural Metro facilitated a purchase that might usually take a year or more from order to delivery, but this delivery only took about a month.
The city paid for the $802,000 vehicle with money available as a result of Prop. 409, a bond issue approved by the city's voters in 2024.
The transition to Rural Metro was the result of the city hiring Citygate Associates as consultants to analyze the city's public-safety problems, Valenzuela said. The result was a process in which Tucson Fire and Rural Metro bid on staffing the city's fire station without actually taking ownership of it or the city's equipment.
Photos: South Tucson has full time fire coverage again
Firefighter Heather Sanchez puts on her helmet on her way to help with the inventory of hoses at the fire station on Feb. 11 in South Tucson. The city of South Tucson has a contract with Rural Metro Fire to provide 24-hour fire coverage after years without.
Firefighter Geraldo Pelayo helps check the hoses on one of the department’s old trucks at the South Tucson Fire station on Feb. 11.
A shelf of hoses being inventoried at the South Tucson Fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson. The new crews are going through the staton getting it cleaned up and re-organized.
Firefighter Heather Sanchez drags a hose as a crew inventories the gear at the fire station in South Tucson.
Engineer Jerry Parks hauls out some extraneous gear past a training dummy while cleaning things up at the fire station in South Tucson.
Firefighter Geraldo Pelayo works out on a new ladder with FF Heather Sanchez at the fire station familiarizing themselves with the gear on the department’s new truck, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighters Heather Sanchez, left, and Geraldo Pelayo take a break on the new truck at the fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighters Heather Sanchez, left, and Geraldo Pelayo hose down a the remains of a small trash fire outside the El Camino Motel, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Captan Tim Higginbottom directs engineer Jerry Parks into the bays at a QuikTrip on South Park Avenue to fuel up following their response to a small trash fire, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighter Gerald Pelayo gets a burst of flames, watering down the gas grill while cleaning it in preparation of cooking up the evening meal at the fire South Tucson Fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
One of the key factors that forced South Tucson to act last year was a decision by fire departments that were the home base of many of South Tucson's part-timers to block them from working for the small city. They decided that working in South Tucson caused a potential mix-up in liability in case any of the firefighters were diagnosed with one of the cancers associated with firefighting.
Engineer Jerry Parks hauls out some extraneous gear past a training dummy while cleaning things up at the fire station in South Tucson.
Clayton Black, president of the Tucson Fire Fighters Association, said the issue centered on the cancers considered presumptively, under Arizona law, to be workplace-related for firefighters. Those conditions include brain, bladder, rectal or colon cancer, lymphoma and leukemia, among others.
The issue, Black said, was: "What if somebody does come down with cancer and it’s a presumptive? Will South Tucson be held responsible or will their original department be held accountable?"
South Tucson got that notice last summer, Valenzuela said, making a new solution to the fire department problem even more urgent. The City Council passed the new contract in a 6-1 vote in December.
Then the rush was on to staff up and get the equipment in place before the Feb. 1 deadline. Since Rural Metro began staffing the station, the calls have mostly been medical, Capt. Tim Higginbottom said. But there has been one structure fire — predictably, it was at a structure that has burned repeatedly in recent years, the abandoned Spanish Trail Motel.
Photos: South Tucson has full time fire coverage again
Firefighter Heather Sanchez puts on her helmet on her way to help with the inventory of hoses at the fire station on Feb. 11 in South Tucson. The city of South Tucson has a contract with Rural Metro Fire to provide 24-hour fire coverage after years without.
Firefighter Geraldo Pelayo helps check the hoses on one of the department’s old trucks at the South Tucson Fire station on Feb. 11.
A shelf of hoses being inventoried at the South Tucson Fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson. The new crews are going through the staton getting it cleaned up and re-organized.
Firefighter Heather Sanchez drags a hose as a crew inventories the gear at the fire station in South Tucson.
Engineer Jerry Parks hauls out some extraneous gear past a training dummy while cleaning things up at the fire station in South Tucson.
Firefighter Geraldo Pelayo works out on a new ladder with FF Heather Sanchez at the fire station familiarizing themselves with the gear on the department’s new truck, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighters Heather Sanchez, left, and Geraldo Pelayo take a break on the new truck at the fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighters Heather Sanchez, left, and Geraldo Pelayo hose down a the remains of a small trash fire outside the El Camino Motel, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Captan Tim Higginbottom directs engineer Jerry Parks into the bays at a QuikTrip on South Park Avenue to fuel up following their response to a small trash fire, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
Firefighter Gerald Pelayo gets a burst of flames, watering down the gas grill while cleaning it in preparation of cooking up the evening meal at the fire South Tucson Fire station, February 11, 2026, South Tucson, Ariz.
