After 28 years of service, Capt. Jed Olsen is retiring from the Wasatch Fire District.
Olsen, a jovial member of his crew who perpetually has a toothpick in his mouth, worked his way through the ranks of the Wasatch Fire District from 1998 until this month. On Monday, he officially retired from his firefighter career.
Wasatch Fire District engineer Jaden Haynie said that if his job is to be “the mom” of the fire crew, captains are “the dads.” It was Olsen’s responsibility to lead the charge on assignments and fires, keeping the crew together and working as a team.
“He has always had the best interest of the firefighters at heart, and he’s done whatever he can to make sure that we were taken care of and that we have what we needed to do our jobs properly,” Haynie said.
For Olsen, taking care of others has always been the point of working with the Fire District.
“I always had a love for it,” Olsen said.
He started his career working for the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, but began thinking of a switch to the Fire District in the late 1990s. Olsen said he was always drawn to fighting fires. Most of all, he was drawn to helping the community through firefighting and beyond.
“We see people on their worst days,” Olsen said. “Hopefully we get the chance to make that very bad situation a little bit better.”
Helping community in dire situations is rewarding, but challenging.
“You rely on family a lot, you rely on your friends a lot, your faith,” Olsen said. “I don’t care what religion you are, but a little Jesus in your life is always good.”
Olsen embodies the “dad” persona not just as a captain, but as a firefighter helping the community and even as an emergency medical technician instructor. During an open house for Olsen’s retirement on Monday, one of the captain’s EMT students stopped by to wish him well.
Aubrey Crumpton, a sophomore at Utah Valley University, said Olsen was one of her favorite EMT instructors.
“He taught me to always be prepared,” Crumpton said. “And just to be present, be aware.”
She said his lessons taught her how to respond to critical situations with clarity and focus. That is, Olsen said, how he responds to every assignment and emergency as a fire district captain. He’s also learned that helping people means being present and available.
“Sometimes that’s all you can do,” Olsen said. “You can’t save everybody, but you can be there to help support those around them.”
In his career, Olsen has had the opportunity to work with his son, Jes, who said he has wanted to work in fire since he was about 5 years old.
Jes was helping his father and grandfather in a lumber yard when a brush fire started, and found himself entranced by the methodical approach to firefighting his dad and grandfather used.
“From there, that’s what I wanted to do,” Jes said.
Though working with his father has not always been easy (Jes said the pair can have differing opinions), it has been rewarding. Jes remembers when he first started with the fire district — a fire started and the Olsens were sent out to stymie the danger.
“I didn’t know what to do, but he was keeping us in sync,” Jes said, adding that guidance from his father made all the difference.
Jes said he believes the Fire District’s staff appreciates Olsen’s honesty and value his opinions.
“I think they like that he speaks his mind. He doesn’t necessarily hold back,” Jes said. “If you ask him a question, he’s just going to tell you what he thinks.”
It’s part of what made Olsen a great leader in the fire district.
Looking back, Olsen said would tell his younger self to “try to have fun.” But, with a catch.
“Always get those assignments you’ve been given done, because people are counting on you to make those things happen,” Olsen said. “People are counting on you as soon as you put on that uniform.”
Over his 28 years in fire, Olsen said he has observed a changing landscape. In part, Olsen said the current fire danger, drought and recent fires in Salt Lake City have made him anxious about his decision to leave the Fire District.
But Olsen said the physical demands of the job require strength and stamina that he said is fading with his age. It’s time, he said, to hang up his uniform.
Though Olsen is unsure what shape his life will take in retirement, Jes said he knows exactly what will be on his father’s to-do list.
“I’m giving him that list of projects he’s been giving me for the last 30 years,” Jes said.
“They said tables are going to turn,” Olsen said, laughing.
It’s family, he said, that will anchor the former fire captain through retirement.
