The Union Fire Protection District (UFPD) consists of three stations. The UFPD currently has sixty-six members of which 10 are full time paid firefighters and 1 is fire inspector. Our Chief, Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief are all volunteers. The remaining fifty-eight are also volunteer firefighters. The volunteers are paid per call for the incidents to which they respond, from three dollars to seven dollars per call, based upon the number of calls and training drills attended per pay period. The District has sixteen pieces of apparatus ranging from rescue boats to pumpers. We ran 851 incidents in the year 2007, which also includes our assistance to neighboring districts. We have mutual aid agreements with all of our neighboring departments, Region C and state wide mutual aid. We also house and maintain Strike Team 5 Heavy Rescue Truck and Trailer. Thirteen of our members are also members of Strike Team 5.

Our district is a very rural community with the total population in our district around 20,000 people. Our three Stations encompass the city limits of Union, Missouri which has a population of approximately 8,000 people. Union is the county seat for Franklin County. Our district is about 40 percent agricultural, 45 percent residential and 15 percent industrial. The district is located about 45 minutes west of St. Louis, Missouri and covers 95.66 square miles. The Franklin County Adult Detention Center which houses city, county, state and federal prisoners is within our district. We have one nursing home, two assisted living facilities, a number of multi- story businesses, educational and industrial buildings, including East Central College, a large multi-story educational complex. Our district contains Interstate I-44 on the south side, a large sanitation treatment facility and rail line in the center, several AmerenUE substations and four major petroleum pipelines: Explorer, ConocoPhillips, Missouri Pipeline and Enbridge. Orica USA, Inc., a major distributor of high explosives for the state of Missouri and surrounding states has a large magazine storage facility within our district.

Recently, the Union Fire Protection District has sent a couple of firefighters to a Car Seat installation class which certifies them as Car Seat Technicians. If any citizens need help or have a question requarding Car Seat Installation, we will be more than happy to help you. Feel free to contact Union Fire House #1 at 636-583-2515 to set up a time in which we can assist you with your Car Seat Installation.

A total of 868 alarms were ran in 2008.  This is 18 more alarms than last year\'s total of 850.

The following is a break down of the number of type of calls:

Fire (Buildings, Vehicles, Brush): 71
Emergency Medical Incidents (Vehicle Accidents, Assist EMS): 305
Hazardous Conditions (Fuel Spills, Gas Leaks, Power lines): 79
Service Calls (Assist Police, Animal Rescues, Mutual Aid Standby): 119
Good Intent Calls (Check the Area, Controlled Burns): 165
Automatic Alarms to include (Smoke Detectors, Carbon Monoxide): 126
Other to include (Citizen Complaint, Unintentional Dispatches): 3

Highlights for Year 2008

January - Upgraded computers & work stations connecting all stations to a main server.

February - Refurbished station #1 community room.

March - Flood situations in Union & surrounding communities.  Hired secretary Sonia Danback            

April - Union Firefighters attend FFAM convention hosted by Southern Stone FPD.  Began the hiring process for five additional paid firefighters.

May - Fire hose testing. Accommodations made @ station #1 to allow for 24 hour crews. Fly flag from ladder truck for troop deployment.

June - Purchase Inspector vehicle from Missouri State Surplus.  Hiring process completed & five additional paid firefighters hired to provide 24 hour a day, five days a week coverage. Full time Fire Inspector position created.  

July - Franklin County Youth Fair.  Trailer purchased from FEMA put into service as Mobile Incident Command Post.

August - MDA collection & purchase of two way hand held radios for each riding position.

September - Attended fire engine displays throughout the region.  Host 911 service & Provide funeral detail assistance.

October - Fire Prevention Week.  1898 hand pumper is displayed in the Franklin Government Building rotunda.  Stream light flashlights purchased for each riding position.  Roof ventilation prop built @ station #4.  98 alarms for the month including 6 traffic fatalities.

November - Rescue tools & ladder testing.  Veterans Day service

December - Fire District partners with Ambulance District in the adopt a family program.