Fire District Budget and Tax Hearing

Wasatch County Fire District

Notice of Budget Hearing

Public notice is hereby given that on December 10, 2019 at 6:00 pm, a public budget hearing for the Wasatch County Fire District will be held at the Wasatch County Administration Building, located at 25 N Main in Heber City, Utah.  The purpose of the hearing is to adopt the 2020 calendar year budget for the Fire District.  A copy of the tentative budget will be available at the District Business Office located at the Jordanelle Fire Station, 10420 North Jordanelle Blvd., Heber City, Utah, and can be inspected during regular office hours Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The tentative budget is also available on the Fire District Web Site wasatchcountyfire.com.  The District Board will also open the Wasatch County Fire District 2019 calendar year budget to allow for the adjustment of any additional revenue and expenses.

Published in the Wasatch Wave Wednesday November 27, 2019 & Wednesday December 4, 2019.

Ernie Giles

Fire Chief

NOTICE OF PROPOSED TAX INCREASE

The WASATCH COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION SSD is
proposing to increase its property tax revenue.
– The WASATCH COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION SSD tax
on a $562,000 residence would increase from $144.35 to
$208.33, which is $63.98 per year.
– The WASATCH COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION SSD tax
on a $562,000 business would increase from $262.45 to
$378.77, which is $116.32 per year.
– If the proposed budget is approved, WASATCH
COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION SSD would increase its
property tax budgeted revenue by 44.32% above last
year’s property tax budgeted revenue excluding eligible
new growth.
All concerned citizens are invited to a public hearing on
PUBLIC HEARING
Date/Time: 12/10/2019 6:00 P.M.
Location: Wasatch County Building 206
To obtain more information regarding the tax increase,
citizens may contact WASATCH COUNTY FIRE
PROTECTION SSD at 435-940-9636.

Fire Sprinkler Demonstration Video

Don Buckley,  with the Utah Fire Sprinkler Coalition came to Wasatch County earlier this week to put on a demonstration about fire suppression sprinklers.  We are so thankful to all of those who were able to come out and support Wasatch County Fire District and learn from this great demonstration!  For those of you that weren’t able to make it, we have put together a video and some key facts regarding fire sprinklers.

In this video the first 2 minutes shows a room without sprinklers becoming engulfed, the second part of the video shows the room with fire sprinklers and how effectively they suppress the fire.  Hope you enjoy!

Fire sprinkler facts and statistics:

*In the event of a house fire you have an average of 3 minutes to get out of the house

*The average time for a room to become fully engulfed is 4 minutes

*The average response time for a fire department is 6-10 minutes (or longer depending on the distance the fire department needs to travel, road conditions, traffic etc..)

*When the room in this demo is engulfed it is about 1,000 degrees

*The #1 cause of death for firefighters is cancer.  When materials are burned they release toxic fumes into the air, these toxins get on the firefighters gear and can be breathed in.  Fire sprinklers are “green” and help minimize toxin levels.

*If one fire sprinkler is triggered, they don’t all go off.  Fire sprinklers are triggered by heat, not smoke, and only the sprinkler in the area of the fire will go off.

*A fire hose puts out 150-250 GPM (gallons per minute), whereas fire sprinklers put out 13-25 GPM, causing much less water damage in a home.

*It takes an average of 6-12 months to be able to live in your home again after a fire.

*The overall cost to put fire sprinklers in a home is about 1%-2% of the cost of the home.

*THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT FIRE SPRINKLERS IS THAT THEY BUY YOU TIME TO GET YOU, AND YOUR FAMILY OUT OF THE HOUSE AND TO SAFETY!!!

FIRE SPRINKLERS SAVE LIVES!!

Here is a link with more information :

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Home-fire-sprinklers/Fire-Sprinkler-Initiative/Fire-sprinkler-coalitions/Utah-Fire-Sprinkler-Coalition

WHATS HAPPENING- Cabin explosion in Timberlakes and one of our off duty firefighters recognized by Heber City PD for assistance with flooding basement

Timber Lakes Fire Friday February 15th

Just before 7pm on Friday night Fire was paged for an explosion at a structure in the Timber Lakes subdivision. We were informed that there was one female in the home and possibly two others.
The female with her four children had arrived at the cabin to spend the weekend and as she entered through the garage she noted a gas smell and entered the home to check it out. The children remained in the car. After several minutes there was an explosion. The neighbors heard the explosion and noted flames coming from one side of the home. Three male neighbors arrived and heard the woman calling for help and found her trapped under a beam. They were able to lift the beam off of her and pull her out to safety.
Upon arrival of fire units the home was fully engulfed and they began fighting the fire in defense mode from above the home with the arial apparatus, as well as with hoselines from several points surrounding the structure.
The severe storm that had been forecast hit as crews were working the fire with heavy snow and wind causing low visibility and extreme road conditions. Wasatch County Fire has several 4×4 apparatus that remained on the scene and other units were realeased. There will be a crew at the scene during the night.
The woman was treated at the scene and EMS was informed that air transport had been grounded due to the storm. The patient was transported to Heber Valley Hospital suffering from burns and trauma from the collapse of the structure, and later by Life Flight ground transport to Salt Lake City.
Thanks to the heroic neighbors, the Timber Lakes maintenance crews, and the snow plows who all worked so hard to keep the roads open and accessable for us.

On January 27th off duty Firefighter Josue Armendariz and his family drove by a street with water running down the road.  They stopped to see if the could help out and Josue helped the officers and the homeowner help divert the water running into his house and down into his basement.  Thanks Josue for seeing the a fellow citizen in need and taking the time on the freezing cold night to stop and help.  Thanks also to Heber City PD for their “Busted” program.

Wasatch County Fire also has a Facebook page.  Please check out our page for more updated information about our department.

With the rapid growth and development Wasatch County Fire District is going through some growing pains and would like to share with you our goals for the future as we try to meet the demands for equipment, staffing needs and budget issues that are impacting us as we work to provide the best service possible to the residents of Wasatch County.

We are publishing a series of articles in the Wasatch Wave and have provided the link below.  Please let us know through the website, Facebook, by phone or in person your thoughts.

GROWING PAINS PART 1

GROWING PAINS PART II

Growing Pains Part III

Growing Pains Part IV_V2

Growing Pains Part VI