CAFMA chief lays out ambulance response targets and urges closer dispatch coordination in Prescott Valley

Chief John Pemma of the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority told the Prescott Valley Town Council that improving ambulance reliability in town hinges on clearer dispatch protocols and regional cooperation.

Pemma said medical responses account for the bulk of CAFMA activity: “68% of what we respond to is medical.” He summarized recent performance for the Prescott Valley reporting area — 10 minutes or less at 90.74%, 15 minutes or less at about 99%, and 25 minutes or less at 100% — based on 637 calls in the March–February reporting window.

Why it matters: residents have raised concerns about long waits and the perception that ambulances from outside Prescott Valley sometimes respond instead of a closer unit. Council members said constituents want reassurance that the closest capable resource will be sent. One council member put it bluntly: “No one cares what’s on the side of the ambulance. They just want the first one to come to them as quickly as possible.”

How CAFMA is organized: Pemma recounted CAFMA’s multi-year evolution, noting conversations that began in 2015, use of rescue units in 2021, and a billing change tied to a state certificate of necessity that allowed CAFMA to begin billing for rescues on 2024-10-01. He said CAFMA currently stations two rescue/ambulance units in the local system (one in Chino Valley and one at Station 58 in Prescott Valley) and staffs each unit with one paramedic and one EMT.

Dispatch and closest-unit questions: Council members asked whether Prescott Valley can require dispatch to send the physically closest ambulance regardless of operator. Pemma and private ambulance representative John Valentine said the PRCC dispatch protocol determines assignment and that PRCC already has visibility of private and CAFMA units through a CAD-to-CAD link. “PRCC sees all of our ambulances… they can see our units,” Valentine said, and he described rapid call transfer between systems.

Pemma said policy changes at the PRCC level — not a lack of unit-tracking capability — are the main barrier to a universal closest-unit policy. He argued that the town and regional partners should work through PRCC to adopt a protocol that favors closest-available resources for emergent calls while maintaining coordinated mutual-aid arrangements for large incidents.

Other operational notes: Pemma described a tiered response system started in late 2025 that aims to send an engine only, an ambulance only, or both as appropriate to preserve resources and reduce risk to responders. Council members suggested experimenting with targeted measures (for example, paramedic motorcycles or other first-arrival stabilizing units) and asked staff for a brief follow-up on dispatch coordination and any near-term fixes.

What’s next: Council members asked staff and CAFMA to work with PRCC and local ambulance providers on concrete dispatch protocol changes and requested a status update in a couple of months to report back to concerned residents.