The Administrative Control Board of the North Summit Fire District began the first steps in reorganizing the department Thursday night after Summit County accused its volunteer firefighters of dereliction of duty and suspended them.
The Park City Fire District will take over services in North Summit for two months, and in that time, the Administrative Control Board hopes to accomplish numerous short-term goals aimed at improving the North Summit Fire District’s operations.
As the Administrative Control Board begins to develop its plan, Michael Novak, a board member, said that some conversations are off limits: They will not rehire the previous chief — whose firing in November sparked dissatisfaction among firefighters — and they will not allow the Park City Fire District to permanently take over. It’s also unlikely that the Administrative Control Board will be discontinued.
Instead, the board will focus on moving forward with hiring a new fire chief and examine the North Summit Fire District’s budget to determine how they are going to pay $168,000 to the Park City Fire District for services over the next 60 days, which will probably include submitting a revised budget to the Summit County Council.
“There are things that could degrade people’s experience with fire and emergency medical services that we don’t want to see happen in the community,” Summit County Manager Tom Fisher said about unanticipated scenarios that could arise during the time that the Park City Fire District is taking over services.
The board’s first short-term goal is determining how the station will be staffed once the North Summit Fire District resumes control over services. The members discussed the possibility of continuing with volunteers, a system in which firefighters are paid a stipend for when they’re on call and then an hourly wage if they are dispatched; switching to a part-time framework; or a hybrid model combining the two methods.
Kathryn McMullin, Summit County emergency manager, said that she’s also been in contact with other counties to gain insight into how they staff their fire departments. It’s also important for the county to consider what they’re doing to retain firefighters, she added.
Once the board has a developed plan, they want to host a meeting with the 25 volunteers currently on the roster, and possibly a facilitator, to lay out how the department will be operated and determine who wants to come back. Then the board plans to ask the firefighters who wish to return to sign a pledge that requires shifts to be filled easily and regularly.
Members of the board aren’t sure if they’ll require volunteers to take a certain number of shifts each month, but the firefighters would receive a stipend for each shift and training they complete. They’re also considering higher stipends for higher quality certifications depending on the staffing model they choose.
The Administrative Control Board listed a few of their long-term plans including writing policies for the department and personnel, consolidating and approving job descriptions, completing a strategic plan and preparing a vision statement. They’ll also work with Park City Fire District Chief Bob Zanetti to prepare a budget to compensate the district for assuming service in North Summit.
Members of the board emphasized they would be focusing in the near term on the next 60 days because of how quickly it will go by rather than on serious future planning. The group hopes to have an outline for their plan by Tuesday ahead of a meeting with the Summit County Council next week.
The meeting is the latest development following the suspension of the North Summit Fire District firefighters on Feb. 4 after a firefighter refused to dispatch to a fatal hunting accident in Echo Canyon amid growing tensions between the volunteers and the county. The outcome of the incident wouldn’t have changed if the firefighter did respond, Fisher said, but the choice not to respond violated county policies and procedures.
County councilors met on Wednesday for a joint meeting with the Administrative Control Board where they echoed the need to create a path forward for the district to ensure the next chief isn’t set up for failure. Councilor Roger Armstrong said there also needs to be a conversation with the community to address concerns.