Arizona Forestry Breaks Ground on New State Dispatch Center
Phoenix, AZ (2/14/2025) – The Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management (DFFM) proudly announces the groundbreaking of a new agency dispatch center to serve wildland firefighters, agency command staff, state and federal cooperators, and all Arizonans.
The new Arizona Dispatch Center (ADC) will incorporate state of the art technology for wildfire tracking and monitoring to support dispatching of resources and facilitating of suppression activities. The 7,000 square foot center is nearly three times larger than the current facility and will provide for more adequate and updated facilities for state dispatchers and fire support staff.
“The current center is outdated and has outgrown our intended needs,” DFFM’s Fire Management Officer John Truett said. “The new building allows us to provide a more comfortable, yet state-of-the-art working space for our dispatchers and increased operating space for our agency’s command and general staff. The new Arizona Dispatch Center will also serve as a central command center for fire overhead to work under one roof during critical incidents, allowing for more efficient internal and external communications.”
Arizona Dispatch Center Manager Michael Hale knows the vital need of a new center especially as Arizona’s wildfire seasons get longer and longer.
“This new center is critical to our communication capabilities and our role on incidents. It will provide us a larger, more technologically-advanced workspace so we can improve our service to our firefighters and state safety as a whole. We’ll have the space and technology to cast and display every component of dispatching at the same time. Fire staff will see weather, resource allocation, availability, smoke detection camera live feeds, and so much more as soon as they enter the dispatch floor. This will make dispatching much more efficient and timelier.”
Funding for the project stems from HB 2001 special session legislation after the devastating Telegraph and Mescal Fires in 2021. HB 2001 allocated DFFM $100 million for use toward fuels mitigation projects, equipment, post-wildfire flooding mitigation projects and infrastructure repairs and upgrades. The $4.2 million dollar center is expected to be completed in October 2025.
For more information contact Tiffany Davila at 602-540-1036 or by email at [email protected]
