June 25, 2024 |
Photo – Carbon County Fire Protection District badge – Courtesy CCFPD
The Carbon County Fire Protection District is one step closer to offering firefighting coverage starting on July 1st.
During the 2022 elections, residents voted to establish a fire protection district to provide coverage for all unincorporated areas of Carbon County.
Forming the brand-new fire protection district has been a slow process. After a year and a half of negotiations and legal wrangling, the district is set to begin responding to fires next week.
At the June 18th Board of Carbon County Commissioners meeting, County Attorney Ashley Davis said many more contracts must be signed before the fire protection district can begin operations.
Attorney Davis said the county must sign a memorandum of understanding with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office to provide dispatching service for the fire protection district. The attorney said another agreement is needed to transfer the county’s firefighters and firefighting equipment to the new protection district.
Attorney Davis also proposed leasing the county-owned McFadden Fire Station and community center to the fire district.
On top of leasing several buildings, Attorney Davis said the county will need to sell five structures to the fire protection district. The county attorney said the board will need to sign off on those agreements as well.
Attorney Davis also proposed contracts to move all county firefighters to the fire protection district. For insurance reasons, the attorney said employees will officially transfer over to the fire district on June 28th.
Attorney Davis said County Clerk Gwynn Bartlett has listed a total of 53 different county-owned firefighting vehicles that will be transferred to the fire protection district. Davis said the county will retain ownership of all firefighting-related records.
Attorney Davis said the county IT department will give eight old computers to the fire district.
Clerk Bartlett said she will prepare a list of the county’s volunteer firefighters to be presented during the July 2nd commissioners meeting. The county clerk said the board must basically terminate all the volunteers so the fire protection district can begin providing insurance for them.
South Central Wyoming EMS board member Irene Archibald asked if the ambulance service will need to renegotiate its contract for the Hanna ambulance barn with the fire protection district. Attorney Davis said because ownership of the building is changing hands, a new contract will be necessary.
Attorney Davis said the multitude of contracts and agreements are needed to allow the fire protection district to take over firefighting services for Carbon County.
Commissioner John Johnson said the formation of the Carbon County Fire Protection District has been a long and difficult process. Commissioner Johnson thanked everyone for working hard to create a brand-new government entity.
Commission Chairwoman Sue Jones echoed Johnson’s sentiment. Following the commissioner’s comments, the board unanimously voted to sign the documents transferring county-owned buildings, firefighters, and firefighting equipment to the fire protection district.
