The city of South Tucson is weighing major changes to how it delivers emergency services after years of staffing shortages and financial strain.

With nearly 5,000 residents living in a 1.2 square-mile city, Mayor Roxanna Valenzuela says South Tucson has struggled to bring in revenue, and now tough decisions lie ahead.

City leaders are now considering whether to partially - or even fully - merge their fire departments with neighboring agencies, Tucson Fire and Rural Metro.

"We have seen an overwhelming amount of structure fires in the last several years, which has created this urgency to create a more sustainable, reliable and affordable department," Valenzuela said.

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