UPDATE: Coconino County responds to Fredonia, AZ state of emergency

FREDONIA, Arizona (ABC4) — Colorado City EMS services will be dispatched to Fredonia emergency calls, while Coconino County health and public safety officials determine long-term solutions.

After Arizona cut ties with the Kane County Hospital, citing certification issues, the mayor of Fredonia has signed a Declaration of Local Emergency,

raising concerns about the lack of emergency services available to the town.

For 40 years, emergency medical services (EMS) have been provided to the Town of Fredonia by the Kane County Hospital on the other side of the Utah and Arizona border. On July 1, 2025, the hospital was asked to end all EMS to Arizona.

On July 4th, the county announced that Colorado City EMS can dispatch their ground ambulances to Fredonia in emergencies. Kane County EMS can also continue to provide emergency services when requested by law enforcement, such as with major traffic accidents.

Currently, the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and Coconino County officials are working together to determine both immediate and long-term solutions.

“We are committed to supporting efforts at the state level to license robust ground ambulance services and ensure uninterrupted access to emergency care,” says Supervisor Patrice Horstman with Coconino County.

Why a state of emergency was declared

Without access to EMS from Kane County, “all other Emergency Medical Services originating within the State of Arizona (both ground and air) are all equal to or more than a 45 minutes response time away,” the declaration reads.

The declaration describes the situation in which the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) halted ambulance services from Kane County Hospital. In a statement to ABC4 yesterday, ADHS said the following about the issue around certification.

“The Department has been working with Kane County Hospital regarding a Certificate of Need (CON) application submitted to allow them to legally operate an ambulance service within Arizona. All ground ambulances operating in the State of Arizona are required to be registered with the ADHS,” the statement read in part.

According to the declaration and Kurt Loveless, the Kane County Hospital CEO, the hospital has been applying for documentation repeatedly since 2022. The declaration claims that these applications “have been summarily and baselessly denied by the ADHS.”

The declaration also claims that no notice was provided by AHDS to the Town of Fredonia. It also states the decision to do this shortly before the Fourth of July has left them “without lifesaving ambulance services” at a time “which historically locally and state-wide, sees an increased number of accidents and injuries.”

“These actions taken by the Arizona DHS have now immediately imperiled the lives, health and safety of the citizens of the Town of Fredonia and … constitutes a current emergency and creates imminent life-threatening health and safety calamities,” the declaration reads.

What actions Fredonia will take

As part of declaring a state of emergency, the Town of Fredonia is now enacting measures to “fill the void in emergency medical services.” The declaration states that the town will continue calling on agencies “regardless of state of origin” in order to ensure EMS services are provided to citizens.

“The Town of Fredonia will utilize existing MOUs and mutual aid agreements, as well as seek and obtain as necessary mutual aid for emergency medical services from any and all resources for assistance regardless of state of origin, including but not limited to from the City of Kanab, Kane County and the Kane County Hospital,” the declaration reads.

According to the declaration, these measures will go into effect immediately, meaning that the Town of Fredonia will allow itself to call on services from Kane County under the state of emergency.

In Arizona State Code 26-311, it reads that mayors may call a state of emergency, under which they “shall have the authority to impose all necessary regulations to preserve the peace and order of the city, town, or unincorporated areas of the county.”

In a statement to ABC4 yesterday, ADHS said that Kane County Hospital would be able to return to providing services “once they address the items within their initial application that remained deficient through the application process.”

The declaration of emergency appears to have circumvented this requirement for now, temporarily allowing EMS services from Utah to assist the Town of Fredonia.

ABC4 has contacted ADHS for an updated statement following this declaration.