The Salt River Fire Department’s tagline “Serving Today to Protect Your Tomorrow” was especially appropriate for a groundbreaking ceremony on May 12, at the future home of the new Station 295/Resource Center that will be built on 92^nd Street and McKellips Road.

Project partners for the build include Perlman Architects, Au’ Authum Ki-Kitchell and Fleming West. Station 295 is scheduled to open during summer 2027 in the southwestern part of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

At the ceremony, two fire engines strategically parked in a slight chevron pattern at the site extended their ladders in the air and held up the largest American flag called the Garrison flag. The flag hung tall over a ceremony billboard designed by the Multimedia team at the Community Relations Office.

Community members, stakeholders and Community leaders shuttled over to the site from the Casino Arizona parking lot and endured a warm, windy and sunny morning.

The SRFD Pipes and Drums Band piped in the flags from the east. There was no posting of colors due to the Garrison flag’s post. 

Deputy Fire Chief Mike Mink said that Station 295 has been on the department’s strategic plan for many years.

“In 2016, Chief [Daryl] Dash and his executive team built a plan to improve emergency services to the Community and ultimately meet the national response coverage standards in all districts within the Community’s borders,” said Mink.

“The strategic plan has been developed to provide more emergency services resources to all the families and guests, resulting in faster response times and a safer environment for all.”

Mink continued, “Now, under the leadership of Fire Chief [Tsosie] Wood and the support of the Community, the Station 295 project and mission must continue. [The project] has been quite the undertaking, spanning two fire chiefs in several years.

President Martin Harvier said that with improvements to Pima Road and with the wide use of Loop 101, the station will be important to the Community to improve response time for people who need help. 

“The decisions that leaders have made over the years to set us up to where we’re at to have economic development [have] been a blessing to the Community,” Harvier told the crowd. “But with that comes a responsibility, and building this new station is a part of that responsibility that we have.”