Cathedral City's fire department wants your input on where it goes next

Cathedral City Fire and EMS is asking residents to help shape where the department goes over the next three years. Fire Chief Michael Contreras went before City Council last week to lay out the framework for the department's 2027-2029 strategic plan, which the department is calling "Then, Now, What's Next."

The chief started by pointing to a run of accomplishments from the last three years:

• - The department earned accreditation through the Center for Public Safety Excellence in 2025, making it the only accredited fire agency in the Coachella Valley.

• - Its insurance rating improved from Class 3 to Class 2, which could mean lower insurance costs for residents citywide.

• - The department is now fully staffed for the first time in more than a decade.

• - It doubled its ambulance fleet from two units to four without spending any General Fund money.

• - Response times also got faster even as call volume climbed, with turnout time dropping 42% and total response time improving by more than a minute since 2023.

Contreras said that combination, getting faster while getting busier, is exactly why the department wants to plan ahead now rather than wait until it's playing catch-up again.

The new plan will focus on five areas:

• - Replacing aging fire engines, ambulances and other equipment

• - Building out a structured training program

• - Upgrading technology and data systems

• - Maintaining full staffing and building a pipeline for promotions

• - Expanding specialty response capabilities like swiftwater rescue, technical rescue and hazmat response

"So we've made what I would call a pretty big transformation over the last three and a half years," Contreras told NBC Palm Springs. "And so this is now telling the council here, this is where we're at. We've given them the update. These are the accomplishments like our accreditation, our ISO, increasing our number of ambulances, our response times. And this is now saying, here, we want your input on how we're going to move forward."

The department is running the entire planning process in-house with existing staff, meaning no consultant contract and no extra cost to the city. Outreach has been underway since April in both English and Spanish, through community surveys, public meetings and focus groups with local groups including the Senior Center, the Boys & Girls Club and College of the Desert.

The department plans to continue gathering community input over the coming months before bringing a final plan back to Council for adoption in November.

Residents who want to weigh in can reach Fire Chief Michael Contreras at mcontreras@cathedralcity.gov.