gunhog11

I was going to add that with regards to the apparatus, it seems to be much like the Scottsdale transition from RM to Scottsdale Fire; where you had some apparatus that were city owned (with the City of Scottsdale seal on them), and others which were still RM owned, but were purchased by the city with the transition. In fact, a 1996 Pierce Sabre just got auctioned by the City of Scottsdale just a couple weeks ago, and you could still see where it used to say Rural/Metro on the doors.

Have a few to contribute, but can't figure out how to with only 2kb available. Mostly old school stuff. Older Phoenix brush trucks, when they were skid units mounted on Chevrolet 30 single-cab dually pickups, prior to being replaced by the Dodge W350 chassis trucks. One picture I have to find that I have is of Brush 33 as a Mercedes Benz Unimog.

As mentioned in the other thread, Northwest would love to be able to merge with someone in order to acquire a CON, allowing them to use their own ambulances.......which are only used as rescue units currently.......for transport. For SWA, Northwest is their biggest 911 contract for the Tucson area, Green Valley being next. SWA contracts to Tucson Fire also, but for BLS only.

With regards to other goings-on down in the Tucson area, there has been talk of a potential merger of Golder Ranch and Northwest Fire. This was talked about a couple years ago, but the plan fell through.

I don't know if the district is going to purchase them from RM, or what? There's a Type 3 brush truck they have that I believe the district purchased, but I'm not completely certain of that. I do know that their one Ladder truck will not be permanently staffed for a while, for reasons unknown. On the subject of vehicles, aren't Mt Vista, Buckeye Valley and Gila River, the only Phoenix/Tucson metro fire depts with the red/black Chicago-style livery? Or are there more around?

Same as with other departments changing their titles for the sake of changing titles; this would seem to not be the best way for RM to be spending their money......at least not responsibly, in light of emerging from bankruptcy recently and the writeoff's that entailed.

I do have to wonder, in today's fiscal realities that many cities and municipalities face, just how smart it is to be changing names like this. Besides the cost of new signs, new stationary, new truck markings, and anything else that would have to be redone to reflect the title change; nothing else actually changes. It's the same service that has always been getting provided. Spending a fair amount of tax money to change a title, doesn't seem like the best use of that money, in my opinion. Fire, medical, rescue; has always been a duty of the fire department, even without having a title that specifically spells that out.

That's indeed sad. For the longest time, RM had their fleet service located in Tempe on 8th st just west of the Loop 101. Shut that down and moved to a hangar on the southeast side of Mesa Falcon Field airport near the post office there, now have no fleet facility. Shame to see.