Our Fire Department is critical to progress in Salt Lake City, saving lives during medical emergencies and protecting our homes, businesses, and physical infrastructure from the devastating effects of fire. During the tenure of our vigilant, hard-working Fire Chief, Chuck Querry, we opened Fire Station #9 at the International Center on Salt Lake City�s west side, resulting in a nearly four-minute decrease in response time to calls for service from the surrounding area. Under Chief Querry�s leadership, the Fire Department has introduced two new paramedic engines, resulting in an estimated 20% reduction in response time to advanced life-support calls. Salt Lake City has the highest ratio of paramedics to citizens of any city in Utah. The Department created Salt Lake City�s first Heavy Rescue Team, equipping firefighters to handle specialized rescue situations, and implemented a task performance test to ensure all firefighters can meet the physically demanding challenges of fighting fires and assisting citizens during emergencies.

Last year, the Fire Department's Public Education Division increased Citizen Emergency Response Training to Salt Lake City residents by fifteen percent. The Department also improved its capacity to handle hazardous materials with an enhanced haz-mat unit and new decontamination equipment. That is all life-saving progress.

Although there have been difficult budget ramifications, we have worked with the outstanding advocates of the Firefighters Association and the Fire Department administration to achieve and sustain four-handed staffing on all Fire Department apparatuses, signifying a commitment to progress in the safety of our firefighters and the public.

This year, the Fire Department will install and train personnel in the use of mobile data terminals. This technology will provide personnel en route to an emergency call with critical information such as building layouts, hazardous materials, and utility information. The Department will also begin using FirstWatch software, which monitors 911 calls and looks for patterns of activity that suggest terrorism or a major disaster. These improvements will enhance the safety and well being all Salt Lake City residents. We are grateful to the outstanding men and women of our Fire Department, which has, these past seven years, constantly progressed.

To address the tragic, corrosive effects of drug abuse in our community, I convened the Mayor�s Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. Under the dedicated leadership of Abbie Vianes, this team of nationally renowned experts, local treatment providers, and family members who have experienced the devastating effects of substance abuse has aggressively promoted public education. The Coalition has organized parent and clergy training sessions to educate the public about the warning signs and effects of substance abuse. We also host a Brown Bag Lunch Speakers� Series each month, broadcast on SLC-TV, which provide a wealth of expertise and practical information to use in combating the scourge of drugs in Salt Lake City.

Last year, the Utah Transit Authority generously extended through the end of January a run of seventeen bus placards designed to raise awareness about drug overdose. Previously, Reagan Outdoor Advertising generously provided use of numerous billboards for a powerful public education campaign encouraging people to seek medical help for those who exhibit signs of drug overdose. We held three clergy seminars, a Freedom Forum on substance abuse, and a town hall meeting on preventing underage drinking, which I co-hosted with First Lady Mary