June 27, 2024 |
Photo – Fire training – Courtesy CC Fire Protection District
The Carbon County Fire Protection District will begin responding to fires starting on Monday, July 1.
In 2022, Carbon County residents voted to create a taxpayer funded fire protection district to cover for all unincorporated parts of the county.
As reported by Bigfoot99, creating a brand-new governmental agency from scratch has been a slow process. With the July 1st operational date quickly approaching, Fire District Interim Chief John Rutherford said the district will be ready.
During their June 18th meeting, the Board of Carbon County Commissioners signed all remaining county-owned firefighting equipment over to the fire protection district. Rutherford said the lengthy fire district creation process is nearly finished.
However, the fire protection district still requires signed contracts from all Carbon County municipalities allowing it to use town-owned equipment to respond to out-of-town emergencies. Rutherford said he isn’t expecting any problems getting the agreements signed because the district intends to operate similarly to the county fire department it is replacing.
The Carbon County Fire Protection District is funded through a 3-mil levy. Rutherford said money generated through the property tax will allow the district to purchase new and better equipment. The interim fire chief said the district will also incorporate new ideas for fighting and preventing fires.
Rutherford said nationally, firefighting services are focusing their efforts away from simply fighting fires and toward preventing fires all together. The interim fire chief said educating the public about fire safety has played a big part in preventing fires. However, Rutherford credited stricter building codes for the greatest decrease in fire-related damage.
The last hurdle facing the fire protection district is obtaining agreements with all the municipalities. Rutherford explained how a mutual aid agreement between the remote towns of Baggs and Medicine Bow will benefit everyone.
Rutherford said the fire protection district has a second type of contract available to certain towns.
Using the town of Hanna as an example, Rutherford said municipalities with existing county-owned fire departments may choose to pay the district for fire coverage.
So far, the governing body of Elk Mountain has resisted the county’s attempts to incorporate the small town’s firefighters and equipment into the fire protection district. Rutherford said he understands that the Elk Mountain Fire Department doesn’t want to give up any of its autonomy. However, Rutherford said he is confident that Elk Mountain and fire district attorneys can come up with a contract agreeable to both parties.
Rutherford said the Elk Mountain Fire Department’s proximity to Interstate 80 will significantly lower the fire protection district’s response time to highway emergencies.
Rutherford said the no matter how municipalities feel about the fire protection district, the board is doing everything it can to improve firefighting services for the entire county.
Rutherford said by creating the taxpayer funded fire protection district, the county no longer needs to find money in the yearly budget to pay for firefighting services.
The interim fire chief said the Carbon County Fire Protection District will be ready to start responding to fires on Monday.
