Unified Fire Authority (Utah)

Unified Fire Authority
Established 2004
Staffing Career and Paid Call
Strength 500+ (sworn and civilian)
Battalions 3
Stations 21
Engines 15
Trucks 7
Rescues 2
EMS Units 21
Tenders 2
HAZMAT 2
EMS Level ALS
Fire chief Michael Jensen
Website unifiedfire.org

The Unified Fire Authority is the agency that provides fire protection, emergency medical services, and other emergency responses for the unincorporated Salt Lake County, Utah, and for 5 other cities located within the county. The UFA is the largest fire department in the state of Utah.

Contents

History

Discussions for the formation of a unified fire department within the Salt Lake Valley began in 1998. For many years, Salt Lake County Fire provided emergency services to several contract cities in addition to the unincorporated county. These cities included Alta, Draper, Herriman, Holladay, Riverton, and Taylorsville.

While each city appreciated the service delivery of the county fire department and wanted to move forward with the relationship, they also recognized some problems with that relationship. There was no direct avenue for the elected officials of their respective cities to vote on current issues or budget proposals. Also, changes in the service package for one city might affect another city detrimentally. These points, along with Administrative concerns for the ability to develop and carry out long term planning, added to the need to move the department in a different direction.

Creation of the UFA

In September 2003, each of the respective mayors came together, with the voting approval of their councils, and signed a 50 year agreement creating the Unified Fire Authority.

At the same time, Salt Lake County leaders worked within the Utah State Legislature to make changes to laws regarding the creation of a Fire District. Once the legal issues were resolved, the County Council took steps to create a fire district for the unincorporated areas of the County. The Salt Lake Valley Fire Service Area was formed, and quickly joined the UFA. This action formed a taxing model that each UFA member could later adopt.

Transition

The charter governing the creation of the UFA specified how personnel, equipment, real estate, and other assets would be transferred to the new agency. Logistically, the transition was an enormous task. Everything with a Salt Lake County Fire logo would need to be changed. Lettering on fire apparatus, patches and insignia on uniforms, and official department letterhead would be changed. Every piece of equipment to be transferred would be tagged, inventoried, and processed for accountability.

Most importantly, all personnel (both sworn and civilian) were essentially terminated as employees of Salt Lake County and hired as employees of the Unified Fire Authority. State retirement, insurances, and years of service had to be accounted for. A seamless transfer of employer was necessary to ensure health care benefits, personal leave balances, and seniority were maintained.

The First Year

The first year brought a successful transition from a division of the Salt Lake County Government to a new independent agency. Financial stability was secured, new policies and procedures were adopted, and additional support and field personnel were hired.

Organization

The Unified Fire Authority operates under the direction of the UFA Board of Directors. These board members are directly appointed by the agency they represent. The UFA Board appoints the Fire Chief and the Deputy Chief. While the Fire Chief is the head of the department, the Deputy Chief typically oversees the day to day operation of the department's Divisions and Bureaus within the department. The UFA is structured in a "paramilitary fashion", with a command staff consisting of the following:

The positions of Chief, Deputy Chief, and Assistant Chief officers are appointed by the Board. The civilian positions of CFO, CLO, and CMO are also appointed by the Board. Positions of Battalion Chief, Captain, Firefighter Specialist, and Firefighter are "merit" positions requiring a competitive process. Merit employees are guaranteed employment and benefits in a similar fashion to a "civil service" policy. Other civilian support positions, including seasonal Wildland firefighters, paid-call firefighters, and logistics and administrative support staff are considered "at will" posiitions and have no specified guarantees of employment or benefits. Nevertheless, these individuals are highly valued for their contributions and are respected members of the department. Vacancies in these positions are keenly felt throughout the entire organization.

The UFA is organized as follows:

Operations

The UFA Field Operations consists of 3 battalions (East, West, or South), and each is supervised by a Battalion Chief. Field Operations personnel work a rotating 3 platoon system. The UFA has adopted a 48 hour on / 96 hour off schedule[1] for field personnel, replacing the more traditional "Kelly" schedule.

Fire stations in Battalion order

Battalion 11 (Station 101 Battalion Headquarters)

# Location City Units Notes
101 790 E 3900 S South Salt Lake, UT Battalion 11, Engine 101, Medic Ambulance 101
104 4625 S Holladay Blvd Holladay, UT Ladder 104, Medic Ambulance 104
106 1911 E 3300 S Salt Lake City, UT Tower 106, Medic Ambulance 106, Aux 106
108 Big Cottonwood Canyon Road Brighton Ski Area UNDER CONSTRUCTION
110 1780 E Fort Union Blvd Cottonwood Heights, UT Engine 110, Heavy Rescue 110, Medic Ambulance 110 Heavy Rescue Specialist
112 3612 S Jupiter Dr Salt Lake City, UT Engine 112, Medic Ambulance 112
116 8303 S Wasatch Blvd Cottonwood Heights, UT Engine 116, Medic Ambulance 116, Water Tender 116, Aux 116 Swift Water Rescue Specialist
119 5025 E Emigration Canyon Salt Lake City, UT Medic Engine 119, Aux 119

Battalion 12 (Station 105 Battalion Headquarters)

# Location City Units Notes
103 5916 W 13100 S Herriman, UT Engine 103, Medic Ambulance 103, Aux 103 Water Rescue Specialist
105 780 E 12300 S Draper, UT Ladder 105, Medic Ambulance 105
113 Snowbird Ski Area Salt Lake County, UT Engine 113, Medic Ambulance 113
114 14324 S 550 E Draper, UT Engine 114, Medic Ambulance 114, Aux 114
120 2700 W 13000 S Riverton, UT Ladder 120, Medic Ambulance 120, Aux 120
121 4124 W 12600 S Riverton, UT Engine 121, Heavy Rescue 121, Medic Ambulance 121, Aux 121 Heavy Rescue Specialist
122 14903 S Deer Ridge Rd Draper, UT Medic Engine 122, Ambulance 122, Aux 122
123 4850 W Mount Ogden Peak Dr. Herriman, UT UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Battalion 13 (Station 118 Battalion Headquarters)

# Location City Units Notes
102 8609 W 2700 S Magna, UT Engine 102, Medic Ambulance 102, Aux 102
107 6305 S 5600 W West Jordan, UT Engine 107, Hazmat 107, Medic Ambulance 107 HAZMAT Specialist
109 4444 W 5415 S Kearns, UT Engine 109, Hazmat 109, Decon 109, Medic Ambulance 109 HAZMAT Specialist
111 8215 W 3500 S Magna, UT Medic Ladder 111, Medic Ambulance 111 UNDER CONSTRUCTION - Operates from station 102
115 8495 W 10200 S Copperton, UT Medic Engine 115, Aux 115
117 4545 S 1700 W Taylorsville, UT Engine 117, Medic Ambulance 117
118 5317 S 2700 W Taylorsville, UT Ladder 118, Medic Ambulance 118

Standard Apparatus Response

1st and 2nd alarm residential structure fire (Single family Dwelling):

3rd alarm and higher dispatch 2 additional Engine Companies

1st and 2nd alarm target hazard structure fire (multi-family/apartments, schools, hospitals, etc.) and commercial structure;

3rd alarm and higher dispatch 3 additional Engine Companies

EMS Response (ALS or BLS)

Motor Vehicle Accident with report of trapped occupants, or any rollover:

Modifications to the standard response may be made by any responding company, or by the Incident Commander as they see fit.

In addition to field operations, each Division Commander is also responsible for various staff, support, and office bureaus:

East Division Bureaus

Assignment Office

Field operational positions are managed by the Assignment Office. The UFA is mandated to maintain a minimum operational staff to ensure efficient service delivery. In addition to the minimum staffing level, the UFA is mandated to staff a wide variety of specialist positions (i.e. Paramedic, Engineer, HAZMAT, Heavy Rescue) in specific locations. The availability of field personnel to staff these positions fluctuates daily due to vacations, sick leave, training, and other functions. The Assignment Office staff ensure the department is staffed properly for efficient service delivery.

EMS Operations and Training

Emergency Medical Services are a major component to the services of the UFA. An EMT-Basic certification is a requirement for employment, and the majority of field personnel are EMT-Paramedics. The UFA maintains a fleet of modern ambulances staffed exclusively by Paramedics, providing ALS treatment and transport for emergency medical needs.

The UFA operates its own nationally accredited paramedic school program[2]. Full time personnel are eligible to participate in the program after one year of employment and completion of prerequisite coursework. Once accepted in the program, the students receive their normal salary benefits and attend the program full time. Several other local departments have used the UFA program to train their own personnel.

All aspects of department EMS functions are managed by the EMS bureau, including:

The Chief Medical Officer, a Doctor of Medicine licensed to practice in the state, provides oversight and direction the EMS division. Paramedics in Utah are certified, rather than licensed. Paramedics in the state function under a delegated protocol system and therefore function under the license of the Medical Director. The Medical Director specifies exactly what the Paramedic may do in the course of treating a patient. In addition, the procurement and possession of drugs (especially controlled substances) are made possible by the Medical Director's DEA registration. Because of importance of the Medical Director to service delivery, the Medical Director is involved in all aspects of EMS operations.

The UFA provides medical personnel for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's SWAT program. These individuals are POST certified and are trained to the same level as Law Enforcement SWAT team members. The concept of embedding Paramedic personnel in a SWAT program closely follows the concept of attaching a Combat Medic to a military unit, such as US Navy Corpsmen working in and with US Marine units.

West Division Bureaus

Wildland

The Wildland program for the UFA (formerly Salt Lake County Fire) was established in response to a 1988 wild fire in Emigration Canyon in the hills above Salt Lake City. The county fire department was trained primarily as a structure fire agency, and struggled to effectively combat a wild fire incident. A type 1 incident management team was requested through the Salt Lake Interagency Fire Center, bringing tactics new and unique to the incident. The fire was contained, but not before consuming approximately 5,500 acres (22 km2). Impressed with the efficient and professional manner used by the wildland management team, the command staff of the county fire department began to entertain the idea of creating a special wildland unit.

References

  1. ^ http://www.48-96.com/48-96/Welcome.html
  2. ^ http://www.jems.com/resources/directory/Accredited_EMT_and_Paramedic_Programs.html

External links