Pima expresses gratitude for Fire Department grant

As Pima Town Supervisor, I am writing to express my gratitude for receiving a $2 million grant from Congress through Congressman Juan Siscomani’s office to build a new fire station and to explain how important this funding is to our community. This is one of 13 projects funded in our district totaling $26 million.

First, I want to answer two common questions I get asked: Yes, the Town of Pima exists, but it is not in Pima County. Our town is in Graham County, next to the towns of Thatcher and Safford. Our town was founded in 1879 and has long been a close-knit community. Today, we have about 3,000 residents and are growing rapidly thanks to the nearby Freeport-McMoRan copper-gold mine.

The original fire station was completed in 1970 and was built primarily with volunteer labor from citizens and fire department personnel. Funds for materials were raised by selling Mexican dinners provided by the fire department’s wives. The beloved building served its purpose, but it soon outgrew its firefighters (at 35, it’s one of the largest volunteer departments in the state) as well as its newest fire engines. The station’s bays are too small to accommodate a regular-sized fire engine, so the department must pay extra to specially order a smaller truck that fits through the bay doors.

The need for a new fire station has been clear for years, but the problem has been funding. Given modern regulations and safety standards, relying on local know-how isn’t an option this time around. Our firefighters continue to raise funds at community events, but the money raised through fundraisers isn’t going anywhere like it used to.

When it comes to town resources, Pima is at a disadvantage. As mentioned before, our population is growing, so we have extra expenses but not much extra revenue. The municipality relies heavily on sales taxes as a general fund, and Pima has grown much more slowly in this regard. Due to our proximity to larger communities such as Thatcher and Safford, most of the commercial development in the area has taken place outside of the town boundaries, and with it much of the tax money our residents spend. Most municipalities are always looking for grants from the federal government, state governments, private agencies, etc. to improve the lives of our residents, and this is especially important for us. Our entire annual town budget without grants is about $3 million, so you can imagine what a $2 million grant would mean to us.

Another challenge facing Pima, and small towns in general, is that with only 12 full-time employees, including a police officer, we don’t have a dedicated grant writing team to continually raise funds. Thankfully, other agencies stepped up to help. This grant wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Graham County Electric Cooperative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Arizona First Branch, and Congressman Siscomani and his staff.

Some may wonder why a community with 12 full-time employees needs a fire department with 35 volunteers. The answer is that the fire department operates far beyond just town boundaries. They regularly respond to calls outside of town, in other municipalities, on BLM lands, and on the San Carlos Apache Reservation. The Pima Volunteer Fire Department is vital to safety throughout Graham County, and we are forever grateful for their efforts in ensuring the necessary funding to keep the department viable for the future.