When Chandler's fire department starts running its own ambulances on Jan. 1, Queen Creek's ambulance crews would be among those it can call when its units are stretched thin, under a backup agreement on the Town Council's consent agenda Wednesday.
The intergovernmental agreement would let either city ask the other for advanced and basic life support ambulance transports during peak call volume, simultaneous emergencies, major incidents or any time its own resources are overtaxed. The answering department decides what equipment and crews to send, keeps control of them, and follows its own medical protocols.
Chandler joins the regional network
According to the staff report from Fire Chief Vance Gray and Deputy Fire Chief Andrew Marlar, Queen Creek received a state certificate of necessity to transport patients in 2016. As neighboring cities have launched fire department ambulance systems of their own, the town has signed backup agreements so ambulances can be shared when calls pile up.
Queen Creek already has those agreements with Gilbert, Mesa and the Superstition Fire and Medical District.
Chandler is starting a fire-based emergency transport system with a go-live date of Jan. 1, 2027, the report says, and asked Queen Creek for the same kind of arrangement. The Arizona Department of Health Services granted Chandler's initial certificate of necessity on April 1, 2026, according to the agreement.
Staff say the deal carries no negative fiscal impact: the department that makes a transport bills the patient for it. The agreement would take effect Jan. 1, run five years, and renew automatically for another five unless ended. Either side could withdraw with 90 days' written notice.
