Myth:
Why should I bother annexing into the City?- the Police and Fire Departments will respond whether I’m a City resident or a county island resident.

Fact:
The City of Peoria is not obligated to respond to calls for service in county islands. The City of Peoria Police Department will not routinely respond to calls for service in county islands – this is the responsibility of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. The City of Peoria Fire Department will only respond to life-threatening emergency calls within county islands - and only if units are available and requested by Rural/Metro.

911 calls from county island residents go directly to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s dispatch center. Fires and medical emergencies are then routed to Rural Metro Fire Department. Rural Metro dispatchers determine if the call is “life threatening.” If so, Rural Metro will call the Phoenix Fire dispatch center who will then dispatch the closest fire unit to your emergency - a house fire with no one trapped inside is not a life threatening emergency.

Due to the number of fire stations and their locations throughout the City, Peoria residents enjoy public safety response times that are up to five times faster than those for county island residents.

Questions? e-mail annexation@peoriaaz.gov, or call 623-773-7107