Fully Involved with Unified Fire

ON THIS EPISODE: We review the June 16, 2021 three-alarm fire that happened at an apartment complex under construction in Millcreek. Nearly 60 firefighters and 20 apparatus from six surrounding agencies were utilized due to the size and complexity of the fire.
News segment courtesy of Fox 13 Salt Lake City. You can view their full article, Massive construction site fire seen across Salt Lake Valley, here.
GUESTS:

• (South Salt Lake Fire Dept.) Captain - Lyndsie Hauck
• Operations Chief - Dusty Dern
• Captain - Ken Aldridge
• Captain - Jubal Perez

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• YouTube - Unified Fire

Episode recorded August 20, 2021.

ON THIS EPISODE: South Jordan Fire Department joins us to review the June 15, 2021 incident when a man died after a trench collapsed at a construction site in South Jordan.
GUESTS:

• (South Jordan Fire Dept.) Deputy Chief - Ryan Lessner
• (South Jordan Fire Dept.) Captain - Jared Velez
• Operations Chief - Dusty Dern
• Captain - Travis Hobbs
• Engineer - Jake Schaugaard

FOLLOW US:

• Facebook - @unifiedfireauthority
• Instagram - @unifiedfire
• Twitter - @fireauthority
• YouTube - @unifiedfire

Episode recorded July 3, 2021.

ON THIS EPISODE: We touch base with Emergency Management to discuss their hands-on experience working through the pandemic and what their division's goals look like moving forward.
This last year has been different than any other for Emergency Management. A 5.7 earthquake, the windstorm, civil unrest and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has kept everyone working hard as we dealt with many unknowns.
The positive for them through this has been the opportunity to use all that's learned in FEMA classes to be prepared for these emergencies.
Operations Unit Leader/Captain Chet Ellis emphasized how we train for short-term instances that are days to weeks. The pandemic presented the new factor of a long-term instance, with it being over a year since their work began.
Through this challenge, they have still seen a lot of success. The processes worked and their partnership with the health department has been largely effective in coordinating vaccine efforts.
On the horizon for EM: continued recovery from the pandemic, earthquake and windstorm; an expected busy fire season, as Utah is in a state of emergency due to a continued drought; and getting back into the groove of training that has been on hold.
Episode recorded April 4, 2021.
GUESTS:

• Emergency Management Division Chief Clint Mecham
• Captain / Operations Unit Leader Chet Ellis
• PIO / JIC Manager Tina Brown
• EM Project Coordinator Valerie Greensides

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• Facebook - @unifiedfireauthority
• Instagram - @unifiedfire
• Twitter - @fireauthority
• YouTube - @unifiedfire

ON THIS EPISODE: We discuss a benefit available to all UFA employees upon reaching eligibility requirements.
UFA is proposing to the Board a 2% addition to all VEBA accounts for eligible employees, which will create 212 new accounts for employees now added to this benefit. This 2% will give everyone the start to a VEBA account until meeting the requirement to reach the sick leave cap to begin investing.
UFA and the employees of UFA own a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association (VEBA) plan, managed through Wells Fargo. This is an account UFA contributes funds into, and then that account can be used by employees once they separate employment, usually when they retire, resign, or leave for any other reason. These funds can be used for medical expenses and operates a lot like a FLEX plan, but is for post retirement/post employment.
On average, Firefighters in Utah hire around age 27 and stay for about 27 years, which puts them at 54 come retirement. Since they don't qualify for Medicare for another 11 years, VEBA can fill that gap for medical expense coverage.
One of the key advantages when investing in a VEBA account is the money is always tax free. It goes into the account, accrues earnings and is reimbursed without being taxed. Though it is restricted to medical expenses, it is a great asset to employees for their future planning.
More information is available on our website and in our benefit booklet.
GUESTS:

• Assistant Chief Riley Pilgrim, Chair of VEBA Board of Trustees
• Human Resources Director Arri Woolf, member of VEBA Board of Trustees
• Captain Jeremy Robertson, member of VEBA Board of Trustees
• Retired Assistant Chief Bill Brass, member of VEBA Board of Trustees

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• Instagram - @unifiedfire
• Twitter - @fireauthority
• YouTube - @unifiedfire

Kronos hack how did our Finance Division react and how did they get through?