Phoenix firefighters make move to temporary station inside Valley hotel

PHOENIX — Some firefighters in north Phoenix will be calling a long-stay hotel home until the city can build them a new station.

Engine 55 began service Monday. Its crews will use the Marriott Residence Inn near Interstate 17 and Happy Valley Road as a station for the time being.

Phoenix Fire Department Assistant Chief Shelly Jamison said the department struck a deal with the hotel chain to meet rising service demands in the area.

“We send the closest fire truck to the nearest emergency,” she said. “In this case, the footprint of the community grew and, as we would send the closest trucks, the time took longer to get there. Response times are critical to the Phoenix Fire Department.”

The hotel worked with the city to install a shoreline to power the engine and put together a special room for the firefighters.

@PHXFire Engine 55 is now serving the North Phoenix area near I-17 and Jomax Rd. @ResidenceInn has created a shoreline to power their engine and has put together a room to serve as a “station” & meet all their needs in between calls. @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/FPX2aJzpW4

— Ali Vetnar (@AliVetty) January 8, 2018

Engine 55 will have a focus on saving lives.

“This is the ultimate response unit,” Jamison said. “It’s an advanced life support engine.

“It has two paramedics and they are all firefighters. They are all EMTs and some of them even have specialties, although this truck doesn’t carry specialty equipment for hazmat or technical rescue calls. We can bring those trucks in.”

The city had planned to build a new station near I-17 and Jomax Road in 2007, but the funding was not available after the economy collapsed.

Phoenix was recently developing plans to build Engine 55 a permanent home in the same area.

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