We recently had a medical emergency and called 911.
Prior to Cave Creek joining Automatic Aid my emergency services resource was just up Cave Creek Road from my home. Now that there is no longer a response agreement between Carefree and Caave Creek, response to our address has to come from the Carefree fire station on the opposite side of the mountain.
On February 21st we were in need of emergency response. While I’m sure they responded as quickly as they could, 12 minutes passed before they arrived at my home to render ambulance service to a trauma center which is 25 minutes away..
Previously, when a response came from the station closest to my home just five minutes away, I felt we received the best response time available. The new system places a greater risk to life saving measures to Carefree residents.
Response from the Cave Creek station takes less than the National Fire Protection
Association standard (NFPA 1710) of four minutes, but from the Carefree station it’s more like nine (more than twice as long).
Under Automatic Aid the quickest assistance would be dispatched automatically. For my neighborhood would mean a return to faster response times. And that’s not true only in my neighborhood, but in many others in Carefree.
Automatic Aid is more expensive and we are a small town with a limited budget,
When something is this important we have to be willing to pay for it.
There will be a special election on May 16 to determine whether residents will approve a property tax. Even if it passes, Carefree residents will continue to have lower property taxes than most of our neighbors, so we can afford it.
What I believe we cannot afford is compromised fire and emergency services that put the lives of my family, and our residents at risk.
I am willing to pay for the best fire and emergency system available; I will be voting YES in May.
Evelyn Johnson
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