• Chief Ekins would like to remind everyone of the following burn regulations and guidelines to keep everyone safe throughout the burn season:
1. Clippings, bushes, plants, pruning from trees, dry grasses can be burned.
2. All material must be thoroughly dry before burning.
3. No burning of manufactureditems such as: tires,construction materials,plastics, trash or rubbish. Oilproducts cannot be used tostart fires and can not beincluded in materials burned.
4. Fires are to be completely out by 6 p.m. each day (cold to the touch.)
5. Do NOT burn when high or moderate winds are present.
6. Someone must constantly attend all fires with a garden hose or other extinguishing materials.
7. A safe distance from structures (buildings, fences, sheds, etc.) should be maintained.
8. You must call 374-BURN to that it is a legal burn day from the County.
9. Tree limbs and piles of clean up should be a safe size to burn.

The Lehi Fire Department is situated in the northern most part of Utah County. We currently have one fire station, with 3 engines, one ladder truck, two water tenders, two brush trucks and three ambulances.

Almost 24,000 people live in Lehi and many of them will need help at some time or another. In 2004, the Lehi Fire Department responded to a total of 1690 calls: 530 fire calls, and 1160 medical calls. Of these calls, traffic accidents accounted for the largest number with medical calls for the elderly being the next highest category. Our fire calls consisted of structure fires, vehicle fires, traffic accidents, service calls and some false alarms.

There are many things citizens can do to help the fire department help you and other citizens in the community. Whenever there is a fire or a medical emergency, there are things citizens can do, or not do, which make a difference in how effective firefighters can be in emergency situations.

The Lehi Fire Department combined its ambulance service with the fire department and now provides both the traditional fire service areas as well as medical assistance. Our members are certified through our various state agencies in both Firefighter skills and EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) areas to insure that you will receive professional attention with any emergency.

Calling the Fire Department

Lehi Fire Department has an enhanced 9-1-1 system. This means that the 9-1-1 operator (referred to as the "dispatcher") can identify through the system's computer, the phone number and address of the calling party. This assists in timely dispatching of police or fire units to the emergency scene.

Common fire emergencies include structure fires, brush fires, and car fires. Common medical emergencies include heart attack, car accidents, respiratory difficulty, seizures and ill persons.

Whenever a person calls 9-1-1, their message needs to be clear. They also need to stay on the phone until the person in the 9-1-1 center has released them from the conversation. Try to stay calm. State what kind of emergency it is.. .fire, car accident, heart attack, etc. Then tell the dispatcher where the incident is. Stay on the phone. The dispatcher may ask more questions or want you to stay on the line. Emergency units already have been dispatched even while you are talking with the dispatcher. Children should be taught their home address and telephone number as soon as possible. In most cases, when a caller dials 9-1-1, the address and phone number of the caller's location is displayed to the 9-1-1 dispatcher. However, this is not always verified because of information that may be called in from cellular or mobile phones.

Location

When the fire department responds to a given location, it may be delayed in arriving if the address is not clearly seen from the street. Although it's fairly easy to spot a column of smoke from a house fire, it's difficult to see someone's heart attack from the street. In a medical emergency, firefighters may waste critical time having to knock on several doors to try and find a correct address. Make sure your address is clearly visible from the street. The numbers should be three or four inches in height and be contrasting from the background color of the building.

Code 3

Code 3 means emergency response in an emergency vehicle. When an emergency vehicle is driving with its lights and the siren going that means it's going Code 3 to an emergency somewhere. Someone needs help quickly.

When an emergency vehicle is heard and /or seen, drivers should carefully pull their vehicle to the right of the road and stop. If they are at an intersection, or stopped in traffic when they see lights or hear a siren, drivers should remain stopped and wait until the emergency vehicles have passed. Do not make quick or erratic maneuvers. Drivers must yield the right-of-way to an emergency vehicle. Be carefiil when driving by or around a motor vehicle accident or any situation where emergency vehicles are parked and the firefighters are working. Resist the impulse to "rubber-neck". This can cause additional collisions.

Fire Hydrants

Make sure fire hydrants have a three foot area clear of debris and obstructions. Firefighters may need to get to the hydrant for water supply. An obstruction of fencing, tree branches, bushes, weeds or brush may cause a delay as firefighters try to get water to extinguish a fire. Someone may be injured or killed because water is not available as soon as possible. Much more property damage could occur if the fire is not attacked with a water supply caused by a delay in hooking up to the fire hydrant.

If a fire hydrant is leaking or broken, missing caps or malfunctioning, please report this to the Lehi Fire Department at 768-7130 or the Lehi City Water Department at 768-7102.

Don't block a fire hydrant by parking a vehicle next to it. Vehicles cannot be parked any closer than 15 feet to a fire hydrant from any direction. Remember, your actions may cause a delay in being able to supply water to an emergency that continues to grow until intervention takes place.