Emergency Management
The office of Fire and Emergency Management is responsible for:
- Coordinating and funding the County fire service.
- Acting in the office of the County Fire Marshal.
- Partnership with State Sovereign Lands & Forestry in wild land fires (see firewise.org).
- Chairs Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).
- Direct Emergency Management within the county (see publicsafety.utah.gov).
Contact Information
Emergency Management
1707 North 900 East
PO Box 228
Duchesne UT 84021
Joshua Phillips-Fire & Emergency Manager
(435) - 738 - 1226
Shelly Felter-Emergency Management Coordinator
(435) - 738 - 1226
Duchesne District Fire Warden
(435) - 738 - 1226
County Fire Marshall
Under State Statutes, the Chief Fire Officer of any County shall enforce the rules of the State Fire Marshall and therefore acts as the County Fire Marshall. The State of Utah has adopted the International Fire Code to which counties shall adhere in safeguarding life and property from the hazards of fire and explosion. In 2006 Duchesne County adopted the Wildland Interface Code.
To achieve this mandate the County Fire Marshall works with the County Building Official in plan review when necessary and certain inspections of facilities including schools and other institutions when directed by the State Fire Marshal to enforce the rules.
It is the duty of the County Fire Marshall to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of each fire occurring in his jurisdiction when property has been destroyed or damaged. This investigation is to be done immediately after the occurrence of the fire in an attempt to determine, among other things, whether the fire resulted from carelessness or design and then to make a report to the State Fire Marshall.
A request can also be made to the Utah State Fire Marshall Office to assist in these investigations.
Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
Every year chemical accidents happen by the hundreds around the country. Few are catastrophic, but even a small one can disrupt a community and damage business. We can’t get away from using chemicals - they bring too many benefits to the way we live. But we can learn to manage those chemicals in a safe and responsible way.
How do communities deal with the risk of chemical accidents? In this country, we have a network of over 3,000 Local Emergency Planning Committees ( LEPC’s ), whose first responsibility is to create an emergency response plan for such incidents. These LEPC’s were set up following Federal Law, according to requirements of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act of 1986 ( EPCRA ), and they operate under the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC).
Because of our rural setting it was agreed by this committee that it would be more suited to our area to deal with multi- hazards rather than just hazardous chemicals specific. The Committee is made up of members from City, County, Law enforcement, and Fire agencies as well as private industry.
The plan takes on the form of comprehensive emergency management ie. Mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Mitigation encompasses activities designed to minimize the potential negative effects of an incident. Included are actions taken by the community to eliminate or reduce the probability of an emergency. Preparedness includes activities designed to ensure the most effective and efficient response, thus minimizing associated damages. Response includes all activities designed to safely and effectively stabilize the incident, including emergency assistance to disaster victims. Recovery activities follow the response phase and are designed to return all systems to their pre-incident condition.
If you would like to serve on this committee, please call your local Emergency Manager.