Colorado City, AZ – For the fire districts located along the Colorado River between Bullhead City and Lake Havasu, emergency dispatch has become a daily source of frustration. The current provider, American Medical Response (AMR), has been producing failures every single day — a situation so dire that even AMR’s own representative has encouraged the districts to find an alternative home.
“I spoke with Brad from AMR and he agrees that, yes, if you could find a suitable home please do,” Desert Hills Battalion Chief Stanec told his board at the district’s February 18 meeting, “because they are having struggles with their dispatch center also.”
That search for a new home has now landed in Colorado City, Arizona. The Colorado City Town Council will consider a formal Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that would make it the primary emergency dispatch center for five fire districts. The details were presented by Town Manager Vance Barlow, noting that dispatch staff under Chief Radley have already confirmed the technology is available and largely in place to support the transition.
Five districts included in the proposed IGA
Mohave Valley Fire Department
Fort Mojave Mesa Fire Department
Desert Hills Fire Department
Golden Shores Fire Department
Oatman Fire Department
The agenda notes that the districts are anxious to get services moved over — and the town has its own incentive to act. Barlow’s summary to council states that spreading Colorado City’s fixed dispatch costs over a larger regional base will have a positive impact on the town’s budget.
A trunk system in search of a center
The five districts grew up together operationally — mutual aid partners up and down the river who depend on seamless communication during emergencies. That interdependence made the dispatch problem harder to solve because they share calls and resources so frequently, all of them had to agree on the same destination.
“As this trunk system grew up and down the river, we all have to agree on what center to go to,” Battalion Chief Stanec told the Desert Hills board at the February 18 meeting. The shared nature of their operations meant that a piecemeal solution — some districts here, others there — wasn’t really a solution at all.
Two options emerged: the Kingman, and Colorado City. Officials acknowledged, Kingman was the obvious first choice. It is geographically sensible and operationally familiar. But Kingman came with a problem that proved difficult to overcome.
“The City of Kingman got hacked three or four years ago so they are very leery about data — not what they send out, but what data gets pushed back to their servers.” said Battalion Chief Stanec, Desert Hills Fire Department.
The issue centers on mobile data computers (MDCs) — the in-cab units that receive and transmit call information in real time. Kingman’s IT department, still cautious following a significant cyberattack on city systems several years ago, has been reluctant to allow data to be pushed back to their servers from outside agencies. The concern stems primarily from the law enforcement side of Kingman’s dispatch center, where sensitive information flows alongside fire and EMS calls.
Districts spent weeks working with Kingman’s technical team to find a workaround. As of the most recent meetings, they had not found one. “If Kingman cannot provide what the team needs, we will probably switch to Colorado City,” Battalion Chief Stanec said at the February 18 meeting — and that is precisely what happened.
Bullhead City’s price: a quarter million dollars
For at least some of the districts, the incumbent provider isn’t AMR at all — it’s Bullhead City Dispatch, which has presented its own set of obstacles. According to Golden Shores Assistant Chief C. Robinson at the district’s February 25 board meeting, the same IT compatibility issues that arose with Kingman have also been a recurring problem with Bullhead City.
When districts explored what it would cost to stay or expand with Bullhead City, the numbers were staggering. Bullhead City quoted Golden Shores $250,000 simply to plug into their system. Fort Mojave Mesa was reportedly told the figure could reach $2.5 million. With Colorado City offering full compatibility and a willingness to meet every technical requirement at no comparable premium, the choice became clear.
“We chose to go to Colorado City, and we will terminate with Bullhead City Dispatch,” Assistant Chief C. Robinson told the Golden Shores board. “We are looking to letting them know April 1 to give notice that on July 1 we will be fully transitioned to Colorado City.”
“We are a winner because we are in between Desert Hills and Mojave Valley as our mutual aid partners and all of us are going to be dispatched by the same people.” said Assistant Chief C. Robinson, Golden Shores Fire Department,
What Colorado City is offering
Beyond cost and compatibility, Colorado City’s dispatch proposal includes a layered communication infrastructure that district officials described as highly resilient. Primary dispatch will run over fiber internet, with automatic failover to microwave relay — large dish antennas on radio towers — and a third fallback using mobile data networks including T-Mobile, Verizon, or Starlink.
Kingman will remain integrated as an automatic dispatch backup from day one. If Colorado City ever goes down, Kingman picks up immediately. Districts noted that Kingman is planning a new standalone dispatch facility within two to three years, at which point the districts may reassess — and Colorado City would then become the backup.
Colorado City is not new to regional dispatch. The town already provides services for the Town of Fredonia, Arizona, and has previously supported dispatch operations in Apple Valley, Utah, giving it a track record as a regional communications hub.
The proposed IGA spells out the responsibilities of both the town and the individual districts, along with a funding model that distributes fixed dispatch costs across the regional group. The draft agreement remains under legal review by Colorado City’s attorneys and the Arizona Risk Retention Pool. Council is expected to consider its terms, the funding structure, and the status of that review before taking any formal action.
For the fire districts, the stakes extend beyond operational convenience. As Assistant Chief Robinson noted at the Golden Shores board meeting, ISO ratings — which directly affect property insurance costs for residents in those districts — are tied to the quality of dispatch and communications infrastructure. A smoother, more reliable system doesn’t just help firefighters. It matters to every homeowner in the region.
