There’s no denying that Heber Valley is growing. New buildings and plans for new buildings are popping up all over the place. One such building that is the clearest sign of Heber’s growth is the new fire station that is slated for completion in April 2025. The new station will provide emergency services to all of Heber’s residents and countless future residents
to come.
When you think of the fire department you may think that they are only responsible for putting out fires, but they also provide other essential emergency services like paramedics and EMTs which are managed by The Wasatch Fire District. The district stretches from the top of the Jordanelle Reservoir, down through Provo Canyon, and as far east as Yellow Lake, which experienced some pretty dramatic wild fires in the summer of 2024. Wasatch Fire District is overseen by Chief Eric Hales. Chief Hales is excited by the growth in the area, and believes the number one reason the new station is being built in Heber is because of that incredible growth, “One of the reasons why I took this job is because, number one, I’ve experienced some of that growth already, but I’m excited to be involved with this community as they navigate that.” Hales became fire chief in 2022, after more than 25 years of fire service for the Park City Fire District. Heber’s fire station was in dire need of some updating. Back when it was built in the 90s the fire department was manned almost exclusively by volunteers. Chief Hales describes the key difference between how things run today versus 30 years ago, “That volunteer response model… it worked well. You’re able to leave your job and go on. There were a couple calls a week. But today we’re averaging almost 15 calls a day.” The old fire station was never equipped for housing staff, something that is standard in most fire stations these days. Currently they house a few staff members in a trailer on the site of the fire station located on 100 East in Heber. Fortunately, the new fire station, being built in the south part of town on 1200 South, will be able to house up to eight full-time fire fighters, EMTs, and paramedics 24 hours a day. “We’re going to be hiring first of the year, we’ll have a fire engine staffed with three people, and an ambulance staff of two. We’ll have a paramedic rescue unit staffed with two. And then our battalion chief, who oversees the day-to-day operations.”
In addition to new quarters for the staff, the new station will be equipped with a space for members of the community, Chief Hales describes, “We’ll also have about a 1500 square foot community room where we’ll be able to host educational classes and other events, everything from CPR to babysitting classes, first aid, and fire prevention classes.” The fire district has been partnering with Wasatch High School since 2021, offering Seniors the opportunity to take an EMT class and earn their license. “Can we expand that to maybe firefighter training at some point? Possibly. We do have a spot on the station site, and a training facility, so we can do some additional firefighter training.”
The construction of the new station hasn’t been without a few challenges. With such close proximity to the Heber Airport, they needed to acquire the proper permits to deal with the FAA and the airspace above the station, an administrative hiccup that caused a 45-day delay for the building. Construction crews weren’t allowed to extend the cranes to the height that they needed, forcing them to get creative and reposition the cranes more often than they normally would to accommodate.
When asked about what members of the community can do to get involved, Chief Hales expressed his gratitude for the people of Wasatch County who voted with an astonishing 62% majority for a sales tax increase in order to help fund the fire district, “We truly appreciate the support that we’ve received from the community. So, we just want to basically give back and provide the service that they not only deserve but what they need.” The .5% increase also helped residents paying property tax because it allowed people visiting from outside the county to help lift some of that burden when they pay for goods and services inside our community. The chief also wants to remind community members to be vigilant in understanding living in a wild land/urban interface area, to be mindful about wild fires and residential fires.
Barring any further complications to construction, the station will be completed in April 2025, at which point Chief Hales will open the doors to host an open house for the public to come tour the new station. Another feature that visitors can get excited about is the museum that will feature over 100 years of history, from the humble beginnings of the Heber Valley Fire Department to today. The museum will showcase murals, memorabilia, and most exciting of all, an old 1934 Mack fire engine, whether or not you’re a history buff, this is very exciting. Ours is a rich history, and while we are going to be saying good-bye to the old fire station, we can look forward to the new station which will undoubtedly create its own history while it serves our community as we progress and grow. Chief Eric Hales concludes, “Growth is inevitable, but it’s just something that we have to be mindful of as a fire district, we just have to look at it, and work together on how we provide the necessary fire and life safety, and emergency medical response to this community as we are growing so exponentially. This is truly rewarding, being part of this growth.”
