Fire districts audit Avra Valley

"What they're doing today is not what they'll be able to do tomorrow in order to stay on their own," Northwest Fire/Rescue Chief Jeff Piechura said.

But rather than sit back and watch it crumble, Piechura and representatives from other area fire districts are tossing Avra Valley a life preserver, one officials with the troubled district are more than willing to accept.

"We need some help," Avra Valley fire board member Joe Cross told concerned district residents at a special board meeting Friday.

At that meeting, Fire Chief Barry Gerber resigned under pressure and fire board chairman Gary Perry stepped down due to health problems, the latest in a string of events that have put the sprawling, sparsely populated district on the brink of extinction.

Avra Valley, which serves roughly 10,000 residents across 265 square miles in both Pima and Pinal counties, has opened its doors — as well as its books — to a team of experts, whose task will be to audit every single aspect of the district's operation.

The experts, made up of officials from the Drexel Heights, Golder Ranch, Northwest and Picture Rocks fire districts, began showing up at Avra Valley headquarters Wednesday morning. Working off an intergovernmental agreement between Northwest and Avra Valley, these experts will put together a report detailing what Avra Valley is doing well, what it's doing wrong and what it needs to do in order to survive.

"This is essentially a health checkup," Piechura told his district's fire board at a meeting Tuesday. Avra Valley signed off on the agreement Friday.

The auditors' first stop: analyzing financial information to see how Avra Valley has amassed about $800,000 in debt, which has resulted in the Pima County Treasurer's Office putting a hard cap on the amount of money the district can spend for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2008.

Piechura said he expects the overall review to take one to three weeks, at which time a self-imposed clock will begin ticking on Avra Valley's fire board. The board has obligated itself to balance its books within two weeks of receiving the report the audit group generates.

That could mean permanently closing two of the district's three fire stations and eliminating more than half of its 24 full-time firefighter positions, something Cross said would only happen if no other alternative was available.

"The last thing any of us wants to do is lay anyone off," said Cross, who hopes to have a survival plan in place by Dec. 1.

As Avra Valley's problems — including $366,000 in pending fines levied by the state's industrial commission for workplace safety violations — began to become public, area fire districts quickly started meeting to discuss ways to help.

"We're all in the public-safety business," Golder Ranch Fire Chief John Fink said. "When something affects one of us, it affects all of us."

Added Picture Rocks Fire Chief Kathy Stewart: "The more heads there are, the more brains there are, the more solutions we can come up with."

Northwest Fire had already been in preliminary talks with Avra Valley about a cooperative services agreement, which might have ultimately led to the two districts merging into one. Piechura says that plan is officially on hold as of now. But based on what the audit report finds, such a plan could return to the front burner in some form.

One concern for Northwest Fire is whether Avra Valley can continue to service roughly 60 square miles of Northwest's territory that falls within Avra Valley's coverage area — known as a certificate of necessity — for ambulance services.

Cross said ambulance service is a priority for his district, noting that until the next fiscal year begins and Avra Valley gets access to a new batch of property- tax money, "our only reliable source of income is ambulance services. We're going to conduct as many transports as we can."

Much of Avra Valley's most recent fire board meeting Tuesday consisted of discussing ways to make any possible cuts in spending and any ways to bring in even the most meager of revenue streams.

Battalion chiefs have offered to use their personal cell phones for work purposes, while board member Bill Scott is looking into trying to secure some local bands to perform at a fundraising event. Even talk of a Valentine's Day dance was discussed as a way to bring in money.

Mike Early, a retired Michigan police officer and eight-year Avra Valley resident who was appointed to fill the fire board's empty seat Tuesday, said he feels the district is worth saving, but it won't be an easy task.

"It's going to take time," Early said. "You're not going to solve it overnight."

The story so far

● The Avra Valley Fire District responds to a March 14 accident along Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak that involved hazardous materials. Several firefighters and other public-safety personnel are injured due to exposure to chemicals.

● Complaints regarding how the district handled the I-10 accident prompt the Arizona Department of Occupational Safety and Health investigators to inspect district facilities April 11. Forty-seven violations are found, including 12 willful violations.

● The district is fined $366,000 Oct. 9 by the Industrial Commission of Arizona as a result of the ADOSH investigation. Avra Valley is appealing the fines.

● Station 192, Avra Valley's southernmost facility, near North Anway Road and West Manville Road, is shut down Oct. 23 after black mold is discovered while plumbers are inspecting a water leak. The station has not reopened, and in the meantime firefighters normally stationed there are working out of Station 191, about eight miles to the north.

● Fire Chief Barry Gerber resigns under pressure during a special board meeting Friday, and fire board chairman Gary Perry steps down after the meeting due to health issues.

● Avra Valley and Northwest Fire sign an intergovernmental agreement to have a team of experts from local fire districts audit Avra Valley's entire operation.