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Under State Statutes the Chief Fire Officer of any County shall enforce the rules of the State Fire Marshal and therefore acts as the County Fire Marshal. The State of Utah has adopted the International Fire Code to which counties shall adhere in safeguarding life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion.

To achieve this mandate the County Fire Marshal works with the County Building Official in plan review when necessary and certain inspections of facilities including schools and other institutions when directed by the State Fire Marshal to enforce the rules.

It is the duty of the County Fire Marshal to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of each fire occurring in his jurisdiction when property has been destroyed or damaged. This investigation is to be done immediately after the occurrence of the fire in an attempt to determine, among other things, whether the fire was a result of carelessness or of design and then to make a report to the State Fire Marshal.

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Local Emergency Planning Committee
LEPC

Every year chemical accidents happen by the hundreds around the country. Few are catastrophic, but even a small one can disrupt a community and damage business. We can’t get away from using chemicals - they bring too many benefits to the way we live. But we can learn to manage those chemicals in a safe and responsible way.

How do communities deal with the risk of chemical accidents? In this country, we have a network of over 3,000 Local Emergency Planning Committees ( LEPC’s ), whose first responsibility is to create an emergency response plan for such incidents. These LEPC’s were set up following Federal Law, according to requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 ( EPCRA ), and they operate under the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC).

Because of our rural setting it was agreed by this committee that it would be more suited to our area to deal with multi- hazards rather than just hazardous chemicals specific. The Committee is made up of members from City, County, Law enforcement, and Fire agencies as well as private industry.

The plan takes on the form of comprehensive emergency management ie. Mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Mitigation encompasses activities designed to minimize the potential negative effects of an incident. Included are actions taken by the community to eliminate or reduce the probability of an emergency. Preparedness includes activities designed to ensure the most effective and efficient response, thus minimizing associated damages. Response includes all activities designed to safely and effectively stabilize the incident, including emergency assistance to disaster victims. Recovery activities follow the response phase and are designed to return all systems to their pre-incident condition.

If you would like to serve on this committee, please call your local Emergency Manager.

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It’s not often we think of emergency services until we are reminded by the flashing lights and sirens and then the moment is gone. It’s when we are the unfortunate victims that we forcibly come to appreciate that service. Oh! that everyone could have that same appreciation without being a victim first. Did you know? That here in Duchesne County we have seven Fire Departments serving the community, with a total of ninety five volunteer firefighters. These volunteer firefighters dedicate thousands of hours in training and fire calls every year. About one third of them are either State certified structural firefighters, or certified wildland firefighters. To achieve the status of a certified firefighter one has to put in a hundred hours of training and pass the State certification exam, covering knowledge in the fire field and the skills necessary for fire attack. There are two classes of certification, structural and wildland fire. This is necessary as the two events pose very different hazards for the firefighter. Now all this training adds up to a valuable asset to the county. There is no way the Cities and the County could afford to pay for a full time employee fire service.

Duchesne County contributes tax dollars to the operation of the City Fire departments to cover county residents. There are four City Fire Departments and three County Departments. Duchesne County has one full time employee in the office of Fire and Emergency Management who coordinates the efforts of these Fire Departments and helps them achieve certain goals. These goals are often difficult to meet as there is a constant changing demand for fire service coverage. In 2001 Duchesne County put together a long term fire needs plan, so that in a period of ten years the fire service would be somewhere near where it should be to cover those needs adequately.

Fire is always such a devastating thing to anyone, that a firefighters wish is that there will be no structural fires this year. Nevertheless one must be prepared when the challenge arises. Safety is the number one concern in the Fire Department, as fire shows no respect for life or property. With this in mind we ask you the citizen of this county to support your local fire department and help avoid a fire call, we will be ready, but would rather not have to respond to your home. You and your family are number one, and so to help yourself, install a smoke alarm to give yourself as much time as possible to get out of a burning house. Did you know your sense of smell is the first thing to go to sleep when you do, yes, that’s right, you will not wake up to the smell of smoke. As a family, plan for a fire, so you will all know what to do if it should happen. Teach children about playing with fire, don’t place flammable products near the stove or the gas water heater.

As you may know there is an open burn season from March 30 - May 30 and again from September 15 - October 30, during which time you may burn yard clippings etc. This is a time to exercise caution and to be aware of fire behavior as it can get away from you so quickly. So think of the wind and your neighbor, and never leave a fire unattended. If you should go camping to enjoy the great outdoors remember to put that camp fire out when you are finished. Here’s to a great fire free year.

If you would like to volunteer your time to serve on a Fire Department, contact your local Fire Chief or one of the firefighters. There is always a need.

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