The Sun City West Rotary Club hosted Robert Olmstead, Deputy Chief for the Arizona Fire and Medical Authority, at its Oct. 13 meeting. Olmstead spoke about the services AFMA provides for local communities and the Rotary club presented him with a check for $500.

AFMA was the founded in 2017 and Olmstead has been a member since then. The AFMA is a full service, all hazard fire and rescue agency providing services from five strategically located fire stations. The authority serves more than 75,000 residents.

Some of the programs offered include a “Lock Box” program for homes at a cost of $45 installed by the fire department. There are 18,000 of these boxes installed in the Sun City West and Sun Lakes communities. These boxes allow the fire department to enter a home when a 911 call comes in when no one answers the door or if something happens to the home when a resident is not available; this allows them to take care of emergencies such as fire, health and other problems.

AFMA also offers an Ambulance Membership program for $75 a year and covers anyone living in the home. Insurance is accepted as full payment. The Vial for Life program provides a small plastic bottle for residents to put a list of their medications in and then the resident puts it in their refrigerator. A sticker is provided to put on the refrigerator door to alert the responder that this medication vial is inside.

There are five fire districts that have come together as one fire department and they now have 12 stations. The creation of the authority saved $1 million in year one through economies of scale. There are currently three fire trucks being built, two of them are Type 1 fire engines and are being built at a cost of $875,000 each. The third is a Type 3 fire engine with high clearance and four-wheel drive for off-road firefighting. These trucks cover more than 475 square miles, which includes Sun City West, Corte Bella, Wittman, Sun Lakes, Tonopah, Buckeye Valley and surrounding unincorporated communities.

The fire authority provides fire inspections, car seat program, EMS, HazMat support, rescue and ambulance response. Ninety percent of their calls are for ambulance and medical needs. There are two EMTs and two paramedics on each truck.

Some of the non-emergency services are lock boxes, CPR and first aid training, blood pressure checks, fall prevention training, public education, code enforcement, fire investigations and fire loss statistics.

For more information about the Sun City West Rotary Club and how to get involved in serving the community and international service projects, contact Glenn Schmitt, President, Rotary Club of Sun City West, at 360-731-5788 or email Schmitt.glenn@gmail.com.