The Summit County Council has approved numerous new policies for the North Summit Fire District since it transitioned from a volunteer to a paid firefighting force three years ago.
A policy regarding body armor was included in the batch approved this week.
Councilmember Roger Armstrong, who formerly served on the district’s administrative control board, said the policies provide a window into the day-to-day realities of firefighting.
“It's really interesting to actually stop and think about the kinds of calls you guys respond to and the situations you guys are in,” he told the fire chief at the July 30 council meeting.
June 29, a man in Coeur d’Alene Idaho set a wildfire and ambushed the firefighters who responded. Two were fatally shot and a third was wounded.
Armstrong told KPCW the body armor policy isn’t specifically in response to the Coeur d’Alene shooting so much as “the world we’re living in today.”
The policy requires the fire district to make ballistic vests available if needed but not for firefighters to wear at all times.
Other policies approved Wednesday address Utah workplace safety laws, contact with communicable diseases, use of district social media and devices as well as communications in general.
