Yuma fire chief briefs council on rising calls and staffing needs

John Louser told the Yuma City Council that the city’s fire department is facing growing demand, with service calls climbing and leaders weighing whether staffing, training and equipment are keeping up with the pace of work in Yuma. The department reported more than 19,000 service calls in 2026, a 6.9% increase from the year before, a trend that puts direct pressure on response capacity and future budget decisions.

Medical demand remains at the center of that workload. The department responds to more than 14,000 medical service calls each year and staffs six to seven ambulances depending on call volume, giving city leaders a clearer picture of how often Yuma Fire is stretched across emergency medical response, fire suppression and other service needs. Those numbers matter to residents from downtown Yuma to the city’s growing neighborhoods because they shape how quickly help can reach a medical emergency or a fire scene.

Louser’s briefing also pointed to the department’s broader planning effort, a comprehensive master plan meant to guide staffing, operations and infrastructure over the next five to 10 years. That work sits alongside the department’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, annual reports and Fire Services and Facilities Plan, which together are meant to steer decisions on where the department expands, what it buys and how it organizes its workforce. Yuma Fire’s Professional Services division handles training, internal affairs, safety, succession planning and accreditation, functions that have become more important as the department has grown more complex.

The department’s accreditation history reflects that long-term focus. Yuma Fire says it was first accredited in 2003 and reaccredited in 2008, 2013, 2018 and 2023, a record that city leaders have used as one measure of organizational discipline. But the operational strain has been visible too. Early in 2025, the department said it handled 441 emergency calls in a single week, about 100 more than its weekly average, underscoring how quickly demand can spike.

Louser’s appearance came after a leadership transition that began when longtime Chief Dustin Fields retired on September 5, 2025, after 31 years with the city fire department and after being named chief in 2022. The city’s national recruitment for his replacement drew 30 qualified applicants from across the country before Louser was chosen. For Yuma, the question now is not just who leads the department, but whether the city is prepared to fund the staff, ambulances and training needed to match the pace of calls.