Coming soon......UFO's in the summer sky

Hello everyone, Just a reminder that starting this Tuesday July 1st you might notice some unidentified flying objects in the Utah sky. Not to fear, its just the annual onslaught of fireworks.

It really is a time of celebration as we remember our nations birth. But this celebration comes with some risk when combined with fireworks. So here are just a few reminders and tips.
1. Buy from a reputable dealer.  Don't drive to Wyoming to get your fireworks. If you do you are at risk of bringing in illegal fireworks.
2. Be a good neighbor, fire works are allowed between the hours of 11:00 AM and 11:00 PM, from July 1st - July 7. On the fourth you can shoot them off until midnight. For the days of 47 celebration the dates you can use legal fireworks are July 21st - July 27. The hours are the same for these dates and you can shoot till midnight on the 24th.
3. Still illegal are bottle rockets, firecrackers, M80's, re loadable mortars, and any fire work that has more than 500 grams of powder.
4. Dont be a dud.... Dont combine drinking alcohol and lighting fireworks.
5. Adults be just that ....Adults! Please supervise any child that is around fireworks, by law no one under the age of sixteen is to light or handle the fireworks.
6. Look up before you light! you should have 150 Feet of clearance overhead to safely light fire works. You should also have at least a 30 foot radius around the fireworks display you are doing.
7. Check with your local jurisdiction to see if there are any other restrictions that are in place. Certain locations have banned the use of fireworks in areas that pose a problem. By checking you can avoid most of these problems.
8. When you do light the fireworks make sure that you are shooting from a stable hard surface. Not grass or uneven terrain.
9. Join the bucket brigade. Keep a bucket of water to dunk the discharged  fire works in. Also keep a hose handy. These two items stem a lot of problems.
10. When in doubt... don't!

Be safe have a great summer. The following video is just a brief reminder of most of these tips. Remember Be Smart... BE Safe... BE READY! Fire Marshal Bob

A river runs through it

June 22, 2014 West Valley City, Utah

At about 7:10 on a beautiful Sunday evening something evil lurked just under the surface of the road.
The evil turned out to be a leak in a 24 inch water main. Residents described the initial leak as volcano like, spewing road, water, rocks and debris into the air.  The neighborhood quickly became inundated with water. Fortunately the storm drain system was able to handle the hundreds of thousands of gallons coming from the roadway.



West Valley City Fire, Police and pubic works, worked to keep the traffic back and alert residents about the potential hazards. These departments worked along side granger hunter water improvement district to get the situation under control. Granger hunter had to shut down pressure stations and locate the appropriate valves to stem the rising waters. Fortunately there were no injuries reported, and no property damages were known of at the time of this article. The attached video was taken well into the incident and the water pressure had been lowered considerably. Thanks so much for those that responded quickly and helped to make sure that damage was kept to a minimum.

Remember,      BeSmart.... Be Safe.... BE READY!
Fire Marshal Bob

ITS WEST FEST EVE!!!!!!!

Hello everyone. I'm so excited! Because its WEST FEST EVE! You know the night before the big three days in june
.
Come join the Fire Department as we celebrate with the City in the annual three day event. This year the fire department will be doing many fun family activities, we'll have safety sheets and books. We will be featuring our "home safe home" program with an activity book for families with over 60 activities to make your home a safer place. There will be photo opportunities, an inflatable house for families to learn about home safety, and our C.E.R.T. team members will be there to help Westfesters get their "Ghoul" on by doing moulage for those that are not faint of heart.

One item we especially want to talk about is the West Valley City Firefighters support of Camp Na Na Mah. This is the University of Utah burn center camp for kids ages 7-12 that have been injured by fire. Camp is held in early August and runs for four days. Each year the firefighters rally together to provide meals, activities, and interaction with the kids. "Its one of the most rewarding things I've done" according to Mary Lindsay Vonk, one of our engineer paramedics.

This year, Battalion Chief Jeff Fox has headed up a special fundraiser for camp nah nah mah. Thanks to the efforts of the West Valley City firefighters, police officers, and community. We have around 30 bikes that we will be selling during westfest. These bikes have been cleaned up and serviced and are very reasonably priced. You can purchase one of these bikes during westfest at the fire department display. The money will be donated to camp nah nah mah to help offset costs for this wonderful program. You of course can make a donation to the camp even if you don't need a bike.


We hope to see you there, and don't forget about the fire works on Saturday June 21 at 10:00


Remember....

Be Smart... Be Safe... BE READY!              Fire Marshal Bob

West Valley City Fire Hosts "Trench Rescue" for Metro Fire Agency

Technical rescue crews from Utah's Metro Fire Agency recently held training at Wst Valley City Fire Departments training center.



This critical training provides crews from around the Salt Lake Valley to work together and build team relationships. the focus of this training was "Trench Rescue". with summer upon us and many construction projects ramping up for the season "We want to make sure that our personnel are ready in the event that one of these sites has a collapse that involves some one being trapped in a life threatening situation..... time is critical in these events.... We don't have the time to invent how to handle the situation, we need to be ready to make a difference at the outset" said one of the instructors.

Remember everyone.

Be Smart.... Be Safe.... BE READY!

          FIRE MARSHAL BOB