Spring City renews annual interlocal fire agreement; county power-meter fee funds new apparatus

Spring City Council voted unanimously to renew the city's annual interlocal agreement with the county fire district, reaffirming the city's participation in the county mutual-aid and equipment funding program.

Chad Hardy, Spring City fire chief, explained the agreement defines the department's primary response area (roughly from the Mount Pleasant boundary south to Pigeon Hollow Junction and west toward Chester), covers mutual aid, and confirms minimum standards for vehicle extrication capability.

Chief Hardy described the county district funding mechanism: a monthly fee assessed through power meters (administered with Rocky Mountain Power billing) pools funds across the county for equipment purchases. That pooled funding is paying for a number of high-cost apparatus items: he said the county will acquire five roughly $650,000 fire trucks to be distributed to stations, a procurement that would have been unaffordable for an individual city on its own. The chief said the district fee is a low-cost insurance alternative and warned that properties opting out of the fee risk being financially liable for large fire losses on their land.

Hardy also described recently purchased battery-powered extrication tools; he said crews used the new equipment at a two-vehicle crash and removed an occupant in under five minutes.

Councilmember Courtney Sim moved to approve the interlocal agreement extension; the motion was seconded, and the council approved it unanimously.