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Unified Fire and police present quarterly reports; chiefs say response times and staffing are steady
Summary
Unified Fire reported 505 incidents (129 emergencies) and a 50th-percentile response time of 4:53 for Jan.–Mar.; police reported 1,161 calls for service in April with priority‑1 arrival averaging 4:27. Chiefs discussed staffing, motorcycle safety and fireworks policies.
Unified Fire and the Cottonwood Heights Police Department presented quarterly reports to the council Tuesday, with chiefs describing near‑average call volumes, steady response times and short-term operational updates.
Unified Fire Chief Riley said the department responded to 505 incidents between Jan. 1 and March 31, of which 129 were classified as emergencies (about 39% dispatched with lights and sirens). He reported ambulance responses totaled 395 and the 50th‑percentile response time was 4 minutes, 53 seconds. Chief Riley described the current fire-weather outlook as "about average" and said the department will keep the existing fireworks restrictions in place but can impose last‑minute limits if conditions change.
Police Chief Keith Russo reported April 2025 had 1,161 calls for service (down from April 2024). Average officer arrival for priority‑1 calls was 4 minutes, 27 seconds; priority‑2 averaged 5:33 and priority‑3 averaged 6:18. The department logged 43 UCR crimes in April (4 assaults, 4 burglaries, 30 thefts and 5 stolen vehicles) and made 43 arrests (down from 60 last April). Traffic citations and a targeted traffic unit were credited with a downward trend in accident rates. Chief Russo said the department is in active recruitment and expects to be fully staffed within days while preparing for anticipated retirements.
Council members asked for more detailed post‑crash and heat‑map data; police said they would provide additional information to the council and explained limits on publicly releasing very granular location data due to privacy concerns.
Both chiefs highlighted enforcement and outreach priorities for summer months, including motorcycle safety and targeted traffic enforcement on Wasatch and Fort Union corridors.
