Heber City’s Claude R. and June M. Hicken Fire Station 51 officially opened Tuesday, and there’s one thing fire department and county leaders agree on: It’s been a long time coming.
“100 years ago Heber Valley established the Original Heber Valley Fire Department,” Wasatch Fire District Chief Eric Hales said at the ribbon cutting. “Today, we stand on their shoulders.”
Wasatch Fire District broke ground on the near $15 million fire station in 2023 as part of an “aggressive” strategy to bolster fire preparedness in the county, according to Wasatch County Councilor Kendall Crittenden. The funding, Hales said, was secured with a 30-year loan through Utah’s Community Impact Fund Board.
Station 51, located on 1200 S in downtown Heber City, is now the new headquarters for the Wasatch Fire District. Hales said they picked the location — which sits on land owned and offered by Claude and June Hicken — through GIS mapping to discover response zone hot spots.
By building Station 51 on 1200 S, Hales said they’re closer to frequent response zones and can easily get on Highway 40 or S.R. 189. According to Crittenden, there’s more than one benefit to the location.
“The value of the station is not only better response, but significant impact to their fire insurance,” Crittenden said.
He and Hales said that, when the original fire station on 100 S in Heber City was built in 2000, the volunteer fire force mostly worked within three or four blocks of the fire station. With a volunteer response model, firefighters got a call, dropped what they’re doing and hurried to the station.
With Heber Valley’s growth in the last 25 years, Hales said that system does not work as well anymore. Now, the fire district must have responders available at any and all hours of the day. According to Crittenden, the change to a full-time workforce happened gradually since 2000 to accommodate for more developments and residential zones and increasing population.
“As we grew over time, when you’re having a couple calls a week, that’s fine. But now we’re almost averaging 15 calls per day,” Hales said.
Station 51 will now play host to eight fire and EMS personnel. There will also be eight at the fire station in Midway, six in Jordanelle and two in Hideout. In Heber Valley, three crews of firefighters and EMS responders will trade shifts and work 48 hours on and 96 hours off to allow for 24/7 service.
While the fire district held a contract to assist South Summit County with emergency response, Crittenden said that agreement has expired. Now, Wasatch Fire District will be focusing on incidents solely in Wasatch County.
Director of EMS Clair Provost said that until now, there have not been any beds or bunks on-site for firefighters and EMS personnel. In the old station, Provost said the district rented a trailer for sleeping space. Now, there’s plenty of bunk room for crews of 8 to 12 responders.
Station 51 is also fully equipped with training features. In the fire engine garage, there are three open windows on the top level for firefighters to practice rappelling. And, Provost said, there’s also an equipment upgrade.
“It gives us all the necessary tools we need to do the job,” Provost said.
