United Fire chief briefs Emigration Canyon planners on access, sprinkler alternatives

United Fire Chief Sean Peterson told the Emigration Canyon Planning Commission on Feb. 13 that access for emergency vehicles and the availability of water are the key constraints in the commission’s effort to revise canyon development standards.

Peterson said the International Fire Code and the Wildland-Urban Interface Code require a “solid, maintainable surface that can hold 75,000 pounds,” and that typical 4-inch poured concrete or common landscaping pavers do not meet that standard unless reinforced. “Until there needs to be it needs to be reinforced and it needs to be … 6 inches thick of concrete,” he said.

The chief told commissioners that minimum width for fire department access is 20 feet, and that longer private roads typically must widen to 26 feet when they exceed 500 feet in length. He also described turning and hose-lay limits: an inside turn radius of 28 feet is required for apparatus maneuvering, and crews generally measure hose lay from the furthest point of a structure back to the public road; if that hose lay exceeds about 300 feet, a turnaround is…