VIDEO: COVID-19 has turned into a funding fiasco for one Maricopa County fire district.
The Buckeye Valley Fire District has seen an increase in emergency calls due to COVID-19. The virus is already taking its toll on the fire district’s budget.
According to Fire Chief Mark Burdick, between the last quarter of the last fiscal year and now, the district is $300,000 over budget.
"This is one of the most significant challenges we have right now,” he said. “We have to make decisions and with the increased call activity." Chief Burdick says, on top of increased calls, his first responders have had to transport patients to hospitals farther away because of patient capacity. On top of that, several firefighters have contracted the virus, which means he’s had to pay other firefighters overtime.