Meet Your Maricopa: The Team Behind the Front Lines
Published on May 15, 2025
While Maricopa’s first responders race to keep our community safe, a small but mighty crew works behind the scenes to ensure they have everything they need. Steven Blaschke and Pam Cheatham are two of the three people who make up the City of Maricopa’s public safety logistics team. Their work doesn’t usually make headlines, but it makes everything else possible.
“We’re a cohesive unit, making sure that fire and PD function at the highest capacity,” said Lasky, the city’s public safety logistics specialist. He’s been in the role for seven years, working closely with both the Maricopa Fire and Medical Department and the Police Department.
From restocking gear after major incidents to ensuring every helmet, glove, and vest is in perfect condition, the logistics team runs a 24/7 operation that never truly stops.
Cheatham, the fire administrative support services specialist, started with the department in 2014 as a temp and was officially hired by the city in 2017. She said the team’s role is simple: to make sure responders are always prepared.
“It’s just so important because every little detail of what they wear has to be in perfect condition — everything from their helmet, to their gloves, their carbon hood, trousers, bunker gear and even the name tag on the back of their coat,” Cheatham said.
The team is responsible for maintaining and replenishing everything from body cameras and ammo to carbon hoods and protective vests. If it’s used on the front lines, chances are the logistics team handled it first.
“A lot of people just don’t realize the amount of work that goes into it—the daily effort to make sure police and fire are always safe,” Blaschke adds.
While their efforts are mostly invisible, their impact is not.
“Our number one concern is to make sure they’re safe — whether they’re out on a call or just on duty,” Cheatham said. “I like working in the background, making sure everyone out there is able to provide those life-saving services.”
Blaschke echoed that sentiment.
“I love knowing that I play a contributing role in the safety of this city,” he said. “For a team of only three of us, I think we do a great job making sure everything is taken care of.”
Despite being a team of just three, their impact is felt citywide. And while their work may happen in the background, their purpose couldn’t be more front and center: to keep Maricopa’s first responders safe, ready, and equipped to serve.