SFD Operations (Ops) offers comprehensive emergency response services and is managed by Terry Keller Assistant Chief, Operations (AC/OPS), who is responsible for:

Staffing: SFD utilizes a 3-shift system with a maximum of 21 and a minimum of 18 “shifters” on duty daily with each shift supervised by a Battalion Chief (BC). SFD’s apparatus is pre-positioned through the district at 4 staffed stations with a Station/Engine Captain supervising each. Shifts are divided among the 4 stations by staffing 3 engines with a minimum of 3, 1 engine with a minimum of 2, and 3 ambulances with 2 each.  SFD also uses 2 additional shifts of 2 personnel each to staff another ambulance that follows an alternate schedule (3 10-hour and a 24-hour shift) for peak call-volume periods. Each apparatus is equipped and staffed to deliver EMS-Advanced Life Support.  During large incidents or periods of heavy drawdown, extra resources come from neighboring agencies by automatic mutual aid agreements.

Productivity: When crews are not actively engaged in emergency responses, they remain active in training and public education programs, hydrant and occupancy inspections, housekeeping and equipment maintenance, and special or assigned projects and programs.
Fire Suppression: SFD routinely responds to calls to extinguish fires in commercial and residential structures, vehicles, and timber/brush or grasses. All Ops members are trained and certified as structural firefighters. Most fire responses within SFD can obtain water via hydrant systems. For other areas, Water Tenders (tanker trucks) are dispatched to ensure adequate water is available.

Emergency Medical Service: EMS calls occur on a regular basis. All SFD Ops personnel are required to maintain State certification either as Emergency Medical Technicians or Paramedics (CEPs). Also, SFD CEPs must be able to obtain and interpret 12 Lead EKGs, maintain Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Pre-Hospital Advanced Trauma Life Support, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support certifications. All SFD CEPs are required to maintain proficiency in Rapid Sequence Induction, which involves the use of pharmacology to establish a definite airway (intubation) in patients with compromised airways. The AC of EMS/Operational Support assumes responsibility of EMS training, certifications, procedures, and logistical support for supplies.

Special Operations: Sedona’s unique topography, as well as changes in the cultural and political climate of our society, have necessitated SFD to establish specialty response teams to manage certain incidents, such as:

Hazardous Materials. The entire HazMat Team is trained to the level of HazMat Technicians. Equipment is cached on a Special Hazards response vehicle so that crew members can isolate, identify, and manage hazardous materials. Management of such incidents is accomplished with SFD resources, or by calling in additional regional or statewide HazMat teams.

Technical Rope Rescue. Technical Rescue Team (TRT) members are trained to access, treat, and evacuate victims located in vertical terrain by using a variety of rope systems and techniques.

Swiftwater Rescue. TRT members are trained to rescue victims trapped in swift-moving water.

Helicopter Rescue. The Helicopter Team is trained by, and works with, the Arizona Department of Public Safety utilizing their helicopter to access/evacuate victims not easily reached by ground access.

Tower/Structure Rescue. TRT members are trained to access, evaluate hazards, and evacuate victims unable to self-rescue themselves from communication towers or other similar structures.

Confined Space Rescue. HazMat team members combine forces with TRT to evaluate and mitigate hazards, access victims, and evacuate victims from dangerous confined spaces.

Structural Collapse Rescue. TRT members are trained to evaluate/manage a structural collapse to enable safe search and rescue of victims.

Bicycle Rescue. SFD utilizes mountain bikes to provide quicker responses to victims of hiking accidents on many of the area’s popular trails.

Special Events. SFD uses ambulances, bicycle patrols, and an All-Terrain Vehicle to provide prompt responses to events such as Jazz on the Rocks, Sedona Marathon, Western Americana Days, or other unique scenarios.

Wildland Fire Management: SFD is in the Coconino National Forest, and with continued development and drought, faces a huge hazard for fires involving the wildland-urban interface. SFD developed a Wildfire Defense Program to educate homeowners about dangers of wildfire in the urban interface. Plans have also been developed and training conducted to mitigate such events when they occur. All SFD Ops personnel are trained in wildland firefighting techniques, and many SFD personnel have achieved additional qualifications in the management of such fires, including participation on National Incident Management Teams. SFD supports assisting other areas’ large wildfires by sending requested resources and/or personnel utilizing agreements with regional, state, or national agencies.

Training: Our Training Section is headed by a BC and has a Training Captain. This section is delegated the responsibility of developing and completing a training program that meets the requirements set forth by OSHA, Federal Law, National Fire Protection Association standards, and Insurance Service Office standards. SFD is part of the Verde Valley Fire Chiefs Association, and pays a subscription to use the Verde Valley Training Center, a facility with a live-burn room, natural gas props, confined space props, etc. SFD’s Training section also assists employees with coordinating their enrollment in various institutions for post-secondary education, allowing employees the advantage of meeting requirements for promotional opportunities.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Emergency management is a coordinated effort of local, regional, state, and federal agencies to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural or manmade disasters. SFD maintains and operates the EOC for the Sedona area.

Safety: Safety is conscientiously promoted in all Ops activities through the assignment of incident safety officers. The BC of Training is designated as the District’s Safety Officer, and conducts regularly scheduled Safety Committee meetings. This committee (SFD engineers, reps from Peer Fitness, AC/Ops, and any specialists needed on a special issue) reviews near-misses, accidents, and injuries to implement changes and prevent such events from recurring.

Peer Fitness/Critical Incident Stress Management: As SFD’s most valuable assets, every effort should be made to maintain our employees health and mental wellness. Each Ops member is professionally evaluated annually by SFD’s physician to determine if they are “fit for Duty”. When individuals are identified with areas that do not meet the established standards, they are referred to Peer Fitness, a team of Ops members with specialty training in fitness/nutrition to assist in improving the employee’s health. Following traumatic and critical events, SFD utilizes its Critical Incident Stress Management Team, which is composed of peers and professionals with specialized training in acute or chronic stress resulting from exposure to traumatic events.

Trauma Intervention Program (TIPs): SFD subscribes to TIPs, which is comprised of volunteers who respond to incidents where assistance may still be needed by an individual, but there is no longer any need for emergency resources,  for example, to a grieving family after the loss of a loved one, enabling the dispatched EMS crew to respond to other calls, but ensuring the family is left with a caring person.