City of Scottsdale Fire Department

Scottsdale Fire Department (SFD) provides fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous incident response, and technical and wildland rescue across a 184-square-mile service area that includes roughly 57 square miles of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. The department serves a mix of residential neighborhoods, busy entertainment districts, corporate and industrial zones, and open desert preserve.

EMS is central to SFD's identity: every firefighter is certified as an EMT or paramedic, each response unit is staffed with at least two paramedics, and the department operates a ground ambulance program under a licensed City Medical Director. The Arizona Department of Health Services has recognized SFD as a Premier Level EMS agency.

SFD participates in the Phoenix Regional Dispatch and Automatic Aid system, sharing resources with neighboring departments across the Valley. It also runs specialized teams for aircraft rescue firefighting, hazardous materials, technical rescue, and wildfire mitigation.

The department has required automatic sprinkler systems in new construction since 1985, a mandate it credits with preventing millions of dollars in fire losses and saving at least 13 lives.

Scottsdale hires entry-level Firefighter Recruits who must be at least 18 with a high school diploma or GED, hold a valid unrestricted Arizona driver's license, and carry EMT or NREMT certification and a current CPAT card by the time of a conditional offer. New hires attend a 14-week regional academy followed by a one-year probationary period, and paramedic school may be required after the academy.

The multi-step selection process runs from an online written exam and Spark Hire interview through CPAT, an in-person assessment, conditional offer, drug screen, background and motor-vehicle-record checks, and an NFPA 1582 occupational health physical. Candidates should review the department's candidate readiness packet and apply through the City of Scottsdale's GovernmentJobs portal.