Wasatch County Fire/EMSGrowing Pains, Part VIErnie Giles, Fire Chief

I am excited to report that Wasatch County Fire/EMS is moving forward with many of the plans laid out in the previous four Growing Pains articles. Making progress is not always easy in today’s hectic world and, especially over the holiday season, can feel like herding cats. Regardless, during the last four months of 2017, the Wasatch County Fire Department, Wasatch County EMS, the Wasatch County Fire Advisory Board, and the Wasatch County Fire Protection Board jointly produced a 2018 operating budget, which was approved with support from the Wasatch County citizens. Although the budget reflects an increase, it clearly delineates where and why the funds will be used. In particular, part of the budget increase relates to our plans to hire independent consultants to assess the county’s fire and EMS needs.

Hiring Consultants

As discussed in previous articles, one of Wasatch County Fire/EMS’s top priorities is to improve response capability by identifying the critical needs of fire/EMS within the county. Thus, a new expenditure in the budget is a one-time allowance to hire consultants to conduct a needs assessment and impact fee study for the Wasatch County Fire Protection District. After searching out and reviewing qualified vendors, we selected Emergency Services Consulting International (ESCI) to conduct the needs assessment. ESCI will focus their work on the components of a master plan. They will begin work near the end of January 2018, with anticipated completion by June 2018.

Assessment Goals

The project will yield detailed reports, including a master plan for Wasatch County Fire Protection District. The master plan will be formulated by ESCI based on information and research gathered from:

on-site visits to gain important information and statistics about our community

Interviews with Wasatch County citizens, governmental officials, fire personnel, and EMS supervisors and personnel

County demographics and population projections They will take a close look at current fire and EMS

delivery capability and response times and they will look at current operational and management styles

Current response times and response capability

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Once the master plan is completed by ESCI, we will hire a second consultant to produce the funding analysis and impact fee study. Although a consultant has yet to be selected for this part of the project, several are available and the overarching goal is to help county planners look far into the future to find the best solutions to fund the much-needed support for the demands on emergency services. We will use both the needs assessment / master plan and financial study to help Wasatch County Fire/EMS meet the demands and expectations from all stakeholders. Notably, community involvement will be essential to build a strong foundation for the future of Wasatch County.

Wise Budgeting / Master Planning

Despite the increase to the annual budget, we have used wise budgeting strategies in the past few years to save the county and its citizens a considerable amount of money. We recently took delivery of a 2018 Pierce Velocity Heavy Duty 107-foot aerial ladder pumping apparatus. The much-needed apparatus will provide the community with a state-of-the-art, heavy-duty ladder and pumper, which can perform rescue operations at any structure up to seven stories high. It also can provide water to fire attack lines, produce large aerial master streams on large fires, and carry equipment to support structure fire in search and rescue and ventilation operations. To purchase the new apparatus we set aside funds from our last 3 budgets, allowing us to buy it for cash without the need for borrowing, thus saving the taxpayers of Wasatch County approximately $60,000. With master planning we can continue with strategies, like this, that makes the best use of public funds.

What’s next?

As the master plan project begins, the Wasatch County Fire Advisory Board will continue to work with fire and EMS in keeping up with the project and providing assistance where needed. To follow our continued progress in better responding to the needs of our growing county, check us out on Facebook and at wasatchcountyfire.com.

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