Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Chris Redgrave for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
How many police and fire departments around the United States do you know of that are regularly hosting community events? Or have a community room you can rent for your event or meeting?
The brand new Public Safety Building in Salt Lake City is in full swing after their grand opening in Summer 2013. It's been so well received morale is up, communication among departments is better than ever, and the community room is booked out for six months. They're operating under the idea that our police and fire departments are a vibrant part of the community.
We're lucky to have our Salt Lake City Police Department under the leadership of Police Chief Chris Burbank. He has one of the longest tenures of any police chief in the United States and is one of the youngest to hold this position. He has a strong vision for the unique position his officers hold in public safety responsibilities and community involvement. That's why completing the new Public Safety Building was so critical.
This state-of-the-art facility, located at 475 S. 300 East in Salt Lake City, is one of the first buildings in the state to generate as much energy as it uses. The architects toured dozens of buildings across the U.S. when developing the design. It has large solar panels, similar to what you see at the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The building houses police, fire, Salt Lake City 911, dispatch and the new Emergency Operations Center which will also be a gathering place for city officials in an emergency. This is the first time in the city's history police and fire departments have been housed in the same building, in the hope of greater efficiency in emergency response.
The new Public Safety Building is built to withstand an earthquake of up to a 7.5 magnitude and be fully operational immediately after. In a state so dedicated to emergency preparedness, this is a fitting model.
For more information or to book the community room, visit slcgov.com/psb.
For Zions Bank, I'm Chris Redgrave, speaking on business.
