Lehi celebrates opening of new fire station that aims to improve response times
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- Lehi’s new Fire Station 84 is shown Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Firefighters sign a fire hose during an open house at Fire Station 84 in Lehi on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- A crowd admires fire trucks outside of Lehi Fire Station 84 on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson, left, and Fire Chief Jeremy Craft conduct a hose-cutting ceremony during an open house at Fire Station 84 on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Children and community members tour the components of a fire truck during an open house at Fire Station 84 in Lehi on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- A wooden podium with the Lehi Fire Department’s 1901 emblem is shown during an open house Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson speaks to a crowd inside the apparatus bay at Fire Station 84’s open house Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
With Lehi’s rising population, the risk of incidents requiring emergency responders also rises.
The city’s current population sits at roughly 90,000 people, spreading north to south and east to west.
With growth in mind, Lehi has added its fourth fire station on the west side of the city, where call volumes have steadily increased due to new developments, including a recently opened emergency room and an upcoming hospital, according to a press release.
Officials held an open house Thursday during which community members got a first look inside Fire Station 84.
According to Lehi Fire Chief Jeremy Craft, prior to the new fire station, the closest one in proximity to residents on the western edge of Lehi was Station 81 downtown or Station 83 which is located near the Outlets at Traverse Mountain shopping center.
“So we really needed one out here,” Craft said. “The population, as you can see, is booming. There’s lots of high-density (property), and so these citizens needed these emergency services.”
Crews broke ground on the $9.4 million project in August 2023.
The new station opened and began service last month.
Craft says in that short amount of time, the new station already has significantly improved the department’s emergency response times on the west side from over 12 minutes to under four and half minutes.
“(The) longer it takes us to get there, the more a fire burns. Or the longer it takes us to get there, the more cardiac damage is done in a heart attack patient. So cutting that down really just helps the citizens in this part of town,” Craft told the Daily Herald.
Fire Station 84 spans 17,000 square feet, with enough space to eventually house up to 24 firefighters.
For now, the station will be staffed by 18 new firefighters, with six personnel per shift, according to the release. The station is equipped with nine dorms, a large kitchen and day room, and a workout room. The additional space will also allow the department to house its training division.
“We have a lot of open ground where you’ll start seeing some training facilities being built eventually,” Craft said. “This will become our main training hub where we’ll train all of our new firefighters, for sure, and we’ll also host regional training.”
Thursday’s event featured a celebratory hose-cutting ceremony. A bevy of firefighters from Lehi and neighboring agencies were in attendance as well as city leaders and elected officials.
Dozens of community members and families filled the fire station’s apparatus bay, with many young children excited to see and touch various fire trucks.
The history of Lehi’s fire department goes back to 1901. Lehi Mayor Mark Johnson, who offered brief remarks during the event, recalled a time when the city’s population was still under 10,000 people with one fire station.
“We’ve gotten bigger and from a population of around, I don’t know, up to about 9,000 people when we had the station 81 serving everybody, to a population today exceeding 92,000. And where we have four fire stations now, full time, I can remember when Lehi was a volunteer fire department for the most part,” Johnson said to the dozens who showed up to the open house.
Resident Kara Edis, who lives near the new fire station, said she’s happy to have the new facility in the area.
“It’s nice to know that we have people close (by) in case we have an emergency,” she said.
Edis was joined by her three children, who seemingly were thrilled to see the many fire trucks on hand at the ceremonious event.
Lehi officials say the station will enable the Lehi Fire Department to further reinforce its “all risk” commitment to respond to a broad range of emergencies, from fires and medical calls to disaster response.
“This station is a key part of our mission to protect lives, safeguard property and build strong connections between our team and the people of Lehi,” Craft said.
Fire Station 84 is located at 3495 W. 1500 North in Lehi, just west of the Jordan River Trail.
