Thread: Illegal entrants draining Arivaca Fire's resources

Illegal entrants draining Arivaca Fire's resources




The numbers

â—? This year through July, the Arivaca Volunteer Fire Department has treated 53 residents, in comparison to 91 illegal entrants.

â—? It costs $200 to run the rescue vehicle each time the department is called out. Through July, that came to $37,400.

â—? Drexel Heights Fire Department dispatches calls for the Arivaca department. Each time Arivaca gets dispatched, it must pay Drexel Heights $11, which translates to $2,057 so far this year.


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ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Officials with a volunteer fire department south of Tucson said the number of emergency calls involving illegal entrants is becoming a financial burden to their small department.

The Arivaca Volunteer Fire Department, which this year has treated nearly twice as many illegal entrants as residents, is in danger of running out of money, putting a temporary end to some services.

The number of calls to help illegal entrants - and the costs of those calls - is putting the department at risk of having to discontinue its firefighting services by mid-November and provide only emergency medical services, said department treasurer Ed Pieske.

Because a large portion of the department's emergency medical services are funded by the Arivaca Area Health Services Clinic, those services will continue as long as the clinic is willing to pick up the cost of fuel for the vehicles needed to handle medical emergencies, Pieske said.

Arivaca Fire covers an area that is a popular crossing point for illegal entrants. Calls the department responds to involving illegal border crossers range from those injured in vehicle crashes to those suffering from exposure to the elements.

"We treat anyone who needs our help," Pieske said. "Illegal immigrants are our biggest problem. When they are dehydrated, we give them water. When they are injured, we have to treat them. It is a tremendous burden on our people, equipment and supplies."

Barbara Stockwell, who has lived in Arivaca for 48 years, said the community would suffer if the department was not fully operational.

"They are just amazing people," she said. "They do so much and get so little in return. I've told them, 'If I have a crisis, I want to see your face.' "

She recalls a time a couple of years ago, when a trailer near her home caught fire.

"I have dry trees that would've gone up like torches, but they came out and kept the fire from spreading," Stockwell said. "I was very thankful to them and that year, I gave a larger donation than usual."

If the department cannot fight fires, the closest fire stations are in Green Valley and the next closest are Rural/Metro's in Tucson, which is 45 minutes to an hour by ground and 15 minutes by air.

According to Rural/Metro Battalion Chief Rick Flores, it is about a 20-minute response time from Green Valley to Arivaca.

Pieske said the department is sometimes able to recoup its costs for services to residents, but not with illegal entrants.

By the end of July, the department had spent more than $20,000 responding to calls involving illegal entrants.

Meanwhile, calls involving residents of Arivaca and Sasabe, which are within the department's 452 square miles of coverage area, have cost about $14,000.

Also, six of the 17 fires in Arivaca through July were started by illegal entrants, according to department statistics.

Donations part of funding

The department, which has 13 volunteers, fights fires and responds to various emergency calls including vehicle crashes.

It relies solely on grants, donations, fund-raising and about 130 subscribers who pay $45 a year for services to maintain operations.

"Many here think that paying a fire tax to Pima (County) means they shouldn't have to pay a subscription," said Sue Cabe, an emergency medical technician and firefighter. "The problem is, none of that tax money comes to us."

The Country Fair White Elephant nonprofit thrift store in Green Valley has been helpful to Arivaca Fire with yearly grants ranging from $25,000 to $50,000, Pieske said.

If fire services are discontinued, it will only be until enough funds can be raised to restart them, Pieske said. However, the department does not want it to come to that.

To continue operating on a medical and fire level, the department would like to achieve three things:

â—? First it needs to become a district, because Arivaca residents pay a fire district tax but it all goes to a county fund and the department doesn't receive any of it, Pieske said. Becoming a district, which takes voter approval, would allow it to levy a tax to help fund the department.

â—? Second, the department needs to become certified to take patients to hospitals, which would allow it to bill individuals or insurance companies.

Currently, if a patient needs to be taken to a hospital, Rural/Metro or Green Valley Fire is called out, Pieske said.

â—? Finally, once the department can take patients, it must get a second ambulance, which would need to be equipped, and have a minimum of seven EMTs - the department has three EMTs now.

An ambulance can be purchased for $4,000 to $5,000, Pieske said. The real expense comes when it has to be equipped, which could cost as much as $20,000.

"Basically, we need these three things to happen simultaneously," Pieske said.
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/metro/92502

And the Beat Goes on....

But remember they don't hurt no one, they are good for the economy, they just want the jobs that no American wants.

An ambulance can be purchased for $4,000 to $5,000, Pieske said. The real expense comes when it has to be equipped, which could cost as much as $20,000.

Yeah right, heck you can't even buy a truck for 20,000. Maybe he is thinking of a Hillbilly ambulance. An old S-15 with a Raccoon tail on the antenna