By Paul Menser
Idaho Falls Post Register

BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho — Fire District Commissioner Ralph Isom said a merger would encompass Ammon, Iona, Ucon and parts of Idaho Falls and Bonneville County.

Homeowners and businesses in western Bonneville County may one day pay the same rate for a uniform level of fire protection and ambulance service.

The possibility of forming a metropolitan fire district was the focus of a meeting Wednesday featuring officials from Idaho Falls, Ammon, Iona, Ucon and Bonneville Fire Protection District No. 1. The district would encompass all of those municipalities and the fire district, which covers 300 square miles of unincorporated county land.

""We want the level of service east of Hitt Road the same as it is west of Hitt Road,"" Fire District Commissioner Ralph Isom said.

Idaho Falls Mayor Jared Fuhriman is optimistic fire services can be consolidated, but he said it could be a two- or three-year process.

How a single district would be governed and how it would be funded are among the issues that need to be addressed before action is taken.

The 18 people who attended Wednesday's meeting heard a presentation from representatives of the Salt Lake Metropolitan Response System, which encompasses the county and several municipalities (but not Salt Lake City).

Consolidating could bring a number of advantages, Fire District Commissioner Matt Morgan said.

A single district would be more eligible for federal grants, it would make planning easier, and it would make better use of all the fire protection resources in the county. Insurance rates would likely go down in communities served by volunteer departments, such as Ammon.

It's not the first time the consolidation of fire services has been discussed.

Last year, fire district officials proposed bringing Ammon into the district. After Ammon residents rejected the idea, fearing increased costs, talk of forming a metropolitan fire department grew.

Morgan and Isom had more immediate problems on their hands in the fall, however, as both faced recall elections. Both were retained, but not without bruises.

""After we got beaten up and recovered, we got started on this,"" Isom said.

He admitted there are going to be a lot of questions, especially from firefighters and emergency medical technicians. If a metropolitan district is formed, nobody's wages would shrink, he said.

""That would be a nonstarter,"" Idaho Falls Fire Chief Dean Ellis said.

For years, Idaho Falls and the fire district have had a contract, under which the district paid the city with funds collected from its tax base.

But that tax base is shrinking about 1,400 acres a year, as land is annexed into Idaho Falls and Ucon.

""It's expensive property that added a lot to our budget,"" Isom said.

Another meeting on the matter is scheduled for March 19.

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