Sandy firefighters help homeowners to reduce wildland fire risk

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Sandy firefighters assist homeowners in reducing wildfire risks by offering inspections.
Battalion Chief Matt Stuebner emphasizes educating residents on fire threats.
Residents can also learn about evacuation routes and essential items for emergency preparedness.

SANDY — Firefighters know that wildfire season could kick up in a major way along the Wasatch Front at any time, and city firefighters, in recent weeks, have been helping homeowners fortify their properties against the potential fire hazard.

According to Battalion Chief Matt Stuebner, the Sandy City Fire Department has offered property fire inspections over the past four years at the residents' request.

Additionally, crews visited a homeowner on Columbine Circle Thursday who had asked for a closer look.

"They reached out to us, which we love as a fire department," Stuebner said during an interview with KSL TV. "It's a great opportunity for us to build that relationship and collaborate on a fire threat on their home."

Andy Young said he had already had a close brush with a fire when one started in Dimple Dell shortly after he moved into his home in 2017.

"It started off close to us but quickly swept that way, and thank goodness the wind was blowing that way," he said.

Stuebner said Young's home was mostly in great shape, but provided a few feedback points along Young's fence line, which neighbors Dimple Dell, to help further reduce his risk.

"I was concerned about the grasses and trees and stuff being right along the property line, but that's actually not the biggest concern," Young said after the firefighters' visit. "It's more getting what they call 'laddered up' — I'm learning that term of laddering up on the tree to get rid of the low-hanging dead stuff."

Young said the visit brought more peace of mind and even offered some surprising information about embers from fires.

"A lot of the issue is kind of after the big blaze has gone through," Young said. "Those embers float around and get caught in little corners, nooks and crannies, and can sit there and smolder for 24 to 48 hours, and then that's when you see homes start to erupt in flames from those little embers hanging out, so I was not aware of that as a secondary issue to the initial fire."

Stuebner said crews also educate residents about established evacuation routes and what people should keep in "go bags" — like action plans, prescription medications, emergency first-aid supplies, important documents, pet medications and spare electronic chargers.

He said residents could request an inspection from the city, by using a QR code and said the city program was increasing in popularity.

"Home inspections are very important," Stuebner said. "It really gets to the point that they take that pride and manicure their homes appropriately."

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