Latest news with #SaltLakeCityFireDepartment
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Massive flames visible from I-215 in Salt Lake City
SALT LAKE CITY () — Fire crews are at the scene of a massive blaze near 3300 West and 900 South. Details are limited, however, large flames and a massive plume of smoke can easily be seen by traffic on I-215 and I-80. Traffic cameras in the area show firefighters taking a 'defensive' position, battling the flames from outside an industrial building, spraying water from above. The flames appear to be at the site of Rocky Mountain Recycling Center. It is currently unclear what sparked the flames, how long the fire has been burning, or if there have been injuries. ABC4 has reached out to the Salt Lake City Fire Department and has a crew on scene to learn more. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new information becomes available. Record-challenging heat sticks around before brief Sunday cooldown Massive flames visible from I-215 in Salt Lake City House passes budget framework 89th Masters Tournament | Friday updates Bessent moves to center of Trump world Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
These Salt Lake City neighborhoods are most at risk for wildfires
Karl Lieb kept hearing the same question not long after a series of wildfires broke out around the Los Angeles area earlier this year. Combined, the fires only burned about 38,000 acres, a little larger than Utah's largest fire last year. However, given their location, the January fires were much more destructive than anything Utah has ever experienced. Twenty-nine people died and over 15,000 structures were destroyed, resulting in at least $28 billion in insured losses, according to Southern California Leadership Council estimates. Many estimate economic losses to be much higher as the city continues to rebuild. It left many watching from afar wondering: Could something like that ever happen here? "We've had a lot of questions ... over the last four months, honestly just asking us about the risk," said Lieb, Salt Lake City's fire chief. "Under the wrong circumstances, we could lose some structures in Salt Lake, but we are prepared for this and we do train for this." The wildfires highlight a real risk across many Western cities. They were eerily similar to a blaze near Boulder, Colorado, at the start of 2022, and another that destroyed Paradise, California, in 2018. Recent storms have helped lift most of Salt Lake County out of moderate drought for the first time in months, but it's not uncommon for it — like the rest of the state — to slip in and out of drought. And as this year's snowpack begins to melt, Salt Lake City is preparing for what could be an active fire season if the wrong conditions emerge over the next few months. Salt Lake City and Los Angeles do share many topographical similarities, including a flat basin, canyons and elevated spaces. When it comes to Utah's capital city, the Salt Lake City Fire Department lists the Salt Lake City Watershed/City Creek Canyon, along with the nearby North Cove Estates and East Capitol Boulevard areas, among its most vulnerable areas. Those locations aren't far from where last year's Sandhurst Fire began, leading to dozens of homes being temporarily evacuated as flames traveled across Hell Canyon. Many homes by the Upper Avenues and East Bench are also considered vulnerable. Homes above canyons are typically at the highest risk because fires like to travel up terrain, said Lieb, as he presented wildfire risk review findings to the Salt Lake City Council last week. "They superheat the fuel above them and it just draws the fire up, so all the homes (by) East Capitol and Northmont Way, on the other side of City Creek — those are probably the highest-risk areas," he said. "Those are the neighborhoods that we emphasize." However, elevated risk can also be found in other parts of the city. The department points out that there are many native and nonnative grass and brush species prone to wildfires when they dry out in the summer, especially near the Jordan River and other parts of the west side. Both Salt Lake City and Los Angeles can experience strong winds that fan flames, but Utah's winds are typically nothing like California's Santa Ana winds. The latter can last for days, which creates difficult firefighting conditions. There are also seasonal differences between the two, as well as road differences. "By the time people decided to get out, there was no room on those roads to get out," Lieb said of the recent California fires. "We have the benefit here to have multiple points of egress in most of our risk areas, and multiple points of access — and that's a big difference." With Utah's typical fire season about to get underway, he said the department has adopted some changes with the hope of preventing equally devastating wildfires. It created a new wildland-urban interface coordinator position to help train staff on the best wildland firefighting tactics while keeping its department staffed. Firefighters have also launched educational programs, which include going door-to-door in high-risk areas. This includes ensuring that people are prepared to evacuate quickly and orderly, on top of maintaining defensible spaces before any fires. City officials had previously voiced their concerns about what could happen locally after the California fires broke out in January. Fire risks have become a "365-day threat," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said earlier this year. Recent disasters also sparked some changes in Utah code this year. That includes HB48, which requires counties and cities to "adopt the wildland urban interface building code standards," among other things, to protect future homes. SB30 also puts Utah on track to join the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact to help share firefighting resources with a growing number of states. 'I think what we're seeing, and what our firefighters are on the frontlines experiencing there is reshaping the way that we calculate our readiness for different disasters,' Mendenhall said.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters: What are Utah lawmakers doing about it?
A bill to set up cancer screenings for firefighters across the state passed through the House last week and on Tuesday passed through Senate committee. HB65, sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider, R-Paradise, would expand the list of presumptive cancers for firefighters and also set up a plan to provide cancer screenings and treatment for them. Snider said that if this bill passes the legislature, it will create the most robust firefighter cancer program in the country. 'I think this is one of the most impactful and meaningful bills we'll pass this year,' said Rep. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City. The idea for this bill started based off evidence that there is a higher prevalence of cancer in firefighters compared to the general population. 'Many of us who have been in this space for any period of time know individuals who have succumbed to this disease as a function of their career,' Snider said. Snider used to be a firefighter in Cache County and shared that in 2015, two of his leaders, Travis Peterson and Steve McBride, died from cancer. 'There are certain cancers we can actually refer to colloquially as firefighter cancers, just because they're so rare in the general population, but so prevalent amongst first responders, firefighters in particular,' said Tony Allred, Salt Lake City Fire Department's division chief for fire prevention. Last year, the state sent six senior firefighters to a cancer screening center in Arizona, where they found that five of the six had cancer. One of these five firefighters was Jeremy Craft, the chief of Lehi's fire department. Craft was diagnosed with renal and prostate cancer and has had his prostate and right kidney removed. He is also currently going through hormone therapy because the cancer spread to his lymphatic system. 'Had this program been in place a year earlier, we would have found this cancer much sooner, I could've kept my prostate and kept me from going through all of this,' Craft said. Across the country, 60% of line of duty deaths for firefighters are from occupational cancers, according to Jack Tidrow, president of the Professional Firefighters of Utah. Allred said that these cancers are caused by carcinogens, substances that can cause cancer, that firefighters come in contact with regularly when putting out fires. These come from materials that are in homes, in cars and other areas where firefighters work; they can be plastics, fuels, benzenes and vapors. 'Unfortunately, even the products that are personal protective equipment that we rely on to protect us from the immediate danger, the fire, when exposed to heat breakdown, and even they become absorbent, carcinogenic material. And so we're fighting it on all fronts, both from what we inhale, what we absorb through our skin,' Allred said. In 2015, a bill passed to set four presumptive cancers for firefighters. Now the list is being expanded to 15. Presumptive cancers are conditions that are presumed to have been caused by one's occupation. The cancers on the expanded list are: Bladder Brain Colorectal Esophageal Kidney Leukemias Lung Lymphomas Melanomas Mesotheliomas Oropharynx ovarian Prostate Testicular Thyroid 'The cancers that are added to this list, are added because there is scientific proof and consensus that these particular cancers come as a result of fighting fire, as a result of protecting our communities,' Snider said. The second part of the bill creates a plan to establish a protocol for screening and ultimately treating cancer in firefighters. Under HB65, the Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational and Environmental Health would perform regular cancer screenings for firefighters in Utah. 'Early detection means early treatment, which should be a better outcome,' Tidrow said. For the first three years, the cancer screenings would be paid for by the state. After the first three years of the program, the fire departments themselves will cover the cost of the screenings for their employees. Shelby Willis, the deputy chief at Ogden's fire department, used to work in Florida as a firefighter. During her time in Florida, her department provided a cancer screening with her annual physical, where she discovered she had thyroid cancer. Thanks to the screening, she was able to catch it early and had her thyroid removed without needing chemotherapy or radiation. 'This bill really is just about doing what is best for the folks who protect our communities,' Snider said. Tidrow said he doesn't think there is any reason for people to oppose this bill. 'These turn out to be work related injuries, and we just wanted to make sure that our people are cared for as if they would have gotten any other workplace injury,' Allred said.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Salt Lake fire captain and EMT instructor charged with sexually abusing students
SALT LAKE CITY () — A captain with the Salt Lake City Fire Department has been charged for allegedly sexually abusing two students while he worked as an EMT instructor at a Salt Lake County community college. Christopher David Burk was charged in the Third District Court with six counts of second-degree felony forcible sex abuse and one count of third-degree felony attempted forcible sexual abuse. North Salt Lake man killed in Nevada car crash 'The defendant, in this matter, used his position of trust as a paramedic instructor and firefighter at a local station to prey upon his victims,' charging documents state. Wednesday, without naming Burk, the Salt Lake City Fire Department released a statement that a firefighter had been placed on administrative leave following misconduct allegations. 'In line with this commitment, we take any allegations of misconduct seriously andare dedicated to ensuring a thorough and transparent investigation process,' the statement said in part. 'The Salt Lake City Fire Department holds all members to the highest standards of conduct both on and off duty. Any behavior that does not align with these standards will be addressed swiftly and appropriately.' According to charging documents, in October 2024, a student told Sandy City police that she was enrolled in EMT classes at the community college and that Burk asked her if she wanted to stay behind and 'review some things' at the end of class. He took her to another classroom where he allegedly said he would show her how to 'do assessments.' He then allegedly sexually assaulted the student. In January 2025, a Sandy police detective was informed by the college that a second student reported that Burk had sexually assaulted her. She allegedly told police that while she was a student in the EMT program, she felt 'targeted' by him. She told police that he would often use her as an example to demonstrate assessments to the class and that he touched her inappropriately when doing so on multiple occasions. Burk reportedly asked her to go on a ride-along with the Salt Lake City Fire Department, to which she agreed believing it would allow her to see real-world applications of what she learned in class. Charging documents state that during the ride-along, Burk would try to 'keep her in areas of the fire department where they were alone.' The student reportedly said that he took her to an office to do assessments, where the assault happened. The charging documents state that both students were fearful of reporting the incidents as they were scared of potential retaliation that could affect their schooling or future employment. 'Other program instructors have confirmed to Sandy City police that the 'assessments' demonstrated by Burk that led to the nonconsensual sexual touching are not legitimate techniques taught in EMT courses,' a press release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office said. In the release, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill addressed the importance of students feeling safe in school. 'If you find yourself in an unsafe situation, I encourage you to report it to the authorities. Your reports are essential to our prosecution. We can only prosecute offenses that are reported to law enforcement. If we cannot prosecute, we cannot hold individuals accountable for their actions,' he said. 'I want to thank the efforts of Sandy City police for investigating this case. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.' Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
