CHIEF's MESSAGE 2005
Where We Are
Cedar Mountain Fire Protection District
is staffed entirely by volunteer personnel, except for myself. We
are located in the north west area of Kane County, Utah. We provide
EMS, Fire and Rescue services in a mountainous rural area surrounded
by Dixie National Forest. We provide emergency service to the owners
of 4,853 lots within eighteen subdivisions that are spread out approximately
twenty miles along State Route 14 and bounded by Highway 89 to the
east. About 60 percent of the lots have structures built on them.
We have an estimated 50,000 tourists traveling through our District
along those main routes. We cover 135 square miles across the top
of Cedar Mountain east of Cedar City between Cedar Breaks National
Monument, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks which lie to the west,
east and south of us.
About The Mountain
Approximately 30 percent of the cabins
within the District are over 20 years old and they were built at a
time when building codes were much less strict. Newer construction
standards and a public education program for fuels reduction have
improved fire risk conditions within many subdivisions. In years past
a 10 percent annual growth rate was the norm, but building rates have
swelled to 37 percent recently.
A prolonged drought allowed bark beetles to attack many of the trees in the surrounding forest. The result is a significantly increased risk of fire to our mountain community in much the same way these issues have affected the forests in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado.
It is the policy of the Cedar Mountain Fire Protection District to allow fires only in approved fire pits. Please call the station to arrange an appointment so that we may issue your permit.
Ambulance Service
We now have a medical emergency transportation
service from Cedar Mountain! Our Kane County EMT's can respond directly
from the Main Station to our communities. In the past, ambulance services
were provided from Orderville, Utah. There was a significant improvement
in patient care and response time with the addition of the ambulance
to our vehicle fleet.
Many of our original First Responders
have continued their training over the past 4 years and moved through
Basic and Intermediate EMT levels. Some of our personnel are now progressing
toward Advanced EMT status. We still work closely with and must rely
on the support from Orderville's EMT crews and ambulances especially
when the mountain population soars during summer months and calls
for emergency medical service and transportation to local hospitals
increase significantly. Although we primarily work with the medical
authorities at Kane County Hospital, we sincerely appreciate the support
we get from the other local EMT's in Orderville and Garfield County,
paramedics from Cedar City and the area hospitals in Panguitch and
Cedar City.
Remember, especially those with curious children, to stay clear of emergency vehicles, emergency scenes and to obey all traffic laws that give emergency vehicles the right of way. Keep a watchful eye for law enforcement vehicles or a second CMFPD emergency support vehicle that might also arrive on a scene. We do not routinely run with our lights and sirens on. If we are running with them on, however, please remember that we are likely dealing with a life or death situation of our patient who might also be your loved one, friend or neighbor.
The Fire Crews
Fire fighting personnel are often thought of as heros and our volunteer crews should be thought of no differently. Together we face the daily challenges of restoring or maintaining our equipment, gathering sufficient and proper equipment to arm ourselves against nature=s worst and training as though our lives depend on it, because it does. We have worked hard to improve our ability to communicate via radios so that we can coordinate our response with nearby agencies in the event of a fire or hazardous materials disaster on the mountain. We have promoted positive working relationships with State and Federal personnel and as a fire crew we have earned the respect of many in the fire suppression arena. We have been actively recruiting new personnel and have obtained commitments from both full and part-time residents to join our team. We encourage all to participate in our fire suppression program and welcome enthusiastic new-comers. Volunteers are also needed not only as fire fighters and EMT's but also as maintenance, janitorial, and secretarial personnel. Please complete a Volunteer Application and contact me if you are interested in joining our team.
What's New
Our volunteers have been busy all winter and spring completing training courses and preparing for emergency situations that will arise and test their skills. The District encourages training to increase safety conditions for all involved, improve skill levels and to provide better service to the community and visitors in our area.
In addition to twice monthly fire training at the Main Station, some of the other classes taken by a variety of our volunteers have been in categories such as Wildland Firefighter, Firefighter1, Structure Fire, Extrication Rescue, Hazardous Materials Awareness, Fire Operations, Department Management as well as additional EMT medical courses. Many of these courses are offered at some distance from their homes, consuming many hours or days of training and home-study time as well as demanding physical skills tests. All of this education is voluntary, and I applaud all the volunteers for their constant dedication and tremendous effort.
We encourage joint training or cross-training activities with other nearby local agencies due to the need for team work that is associated with the hazardous nature of fire fighting and life saving efforts. Training together has made our Mutual Aide Agreements with those nearby communities very successful. Please review our Training Calendar for current courses. Additional courses are often added as time and interest permit.
Many Thanks!
Our volunteers are the life blood of this organization. I hope the entire Cedar Mountain community will join me in thanking them all for their voluntary dedication to public service which is so often a thankless job. The stress of responding to emergencies and dealing with a crisis is too difficult for most people, but our neighbors, family members and friends have taken on this monumental task and answered the call for help from strangers and friends alike at all hours of the day or night. They have done so in all sorts of inclimate weather conditions. They face the challenge of hazardous terrain, dangerous road conditions, fire situations, chemical and hazardous material spills. The EMT's are relied upon to sooth and reassure, bandage, brace, breathe and pump blood through sometimes traumatically or fatally injured patients. Fire volunteers practice to fight flames that will attack our cabins and property relentlessly and without compassion. Our support personnel, including our volunteer Governing Board and support staff, spend hours planning, managing, designing, analyzing, scheduling, reporting and putting the finishing touches on our Department so we can all be successful. I am very grateful to all of these people. Please feel free to tell them often that you appreciate their hard work.
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