Superstition Fire & Medical District

Superstition Fire & Medical District (SFMD) has provided fire protection and emergency medical services on the east side of the Phoenix metro area since 1955, when property owners and voters petitioned the Pinal County Board of Supervisors to create the district under Arizona law (ARS Section 48-261). Today SFMD covers roughly 71 square miles that include Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, the Superstition Foothills, Goldfield Foothills and Entrada Del Oro, protecting about 60,000 full-time residents, a number that swells past 86,000 during the winter snowbird season.

The district runs five fire stations, a Fleet Services facility, an administration office and a Regional Training Center, staffed by 102 public safety personnel alongside 24 civilian ambulance staff and 14 civilian support employees. Governance comes from a five-member elected board of directors that provides fiscal oversight, while the fire chief directs day-to-day administrative and operational services. SFMD says it hires "for character, train[s] for skill," reflecting a recruitment philosophy built around character first and skills training second.

SFMD posts open positions, including transport paramedic roles, on its own Jobs Portal and asks applicants to submit all required certifications along with their application. The district describes its hiring approach as hiring for character and training for skill.