Thursday, 10 April 2008
Kenna Holm
Payson Fire Department
This week I’m going to write about something that is dear to my heart and that’s the Payson Fire Department. My husband Frank has belonged to that department since 1961. That’s a long time. To go back - the fire department was actually organized in 1892 and that was only after the city had had several big fires. ( That was a little before my time.) They started out with a hand-operated fire engine with hose and then they bought a light man-drawn horse cart. Then the men could get the hose to the fires. That cart is on display at the fire station now. We have taken it to a few firemen conventions.
When the department was organized, they set up a few rules. They seem funny now because so much has changed. At first, it was required to have 20 men in the department (there are now 30 active members). They were furnished with hat, a red flannel shirt and a belt. (I wonder why they left the pants out. You d think that would have been part of the supplied clothing. Oh well, they had a belt.) They also were given a pick axe, a speaking trumpet and two lanterns. Today, the men are outfitted with turnouts, which consist of a heavy coat and pants and a hard hat. It s a law for firemen to wear these items even if it is summer and hot. They are also outfitted with sweats and T-shirts.
In the past, they fought the fires with bucket brigades. I d hate to see that now. When I first remember the department, the truck and equipment were in the old Douglas building where the liquor store is now. The big siren was on the old library roof. When there was a call, people would call the telephone operator (located on the corner of Utah Avenue and Main where Willow Creek is now) and the telephone operator would then ring the siren. The men would hear the siren and respond to the station.
In 1958, the citizens of Payson approved a bond that made it possible to build a new fire station. The building was built and dedicated in December 1958. Dale Barnett was fire chief at that time. The building housed the fire trucks and was also a place for the city council to hold their meetings. The firemen and the firemen s auxiliary held their meetings there also.
They have added on to the building to house other fire trucks. We now have a 1945 Mack that pumps 500 gallons per minute, the Boardman and the FMC that pumps 1,000 gallons per minute, a 1994 Smeal that pumps 1,500 gallons and the new ladder truck that pumps 2,000 gallons per minute. We have two tenders and three brush trucks. This is quite a change from when they started.
When they moved to the fire station, the siren was moved to the station and placed on the roof. It was very loud and had to be because the men had to hear it from wherever they were. Poor Mildred Warner hated that siren. She lived too close and it really echoed in her home.
They always seemed to have several people who liked to go see where the fire was which was a hazard sometimes. People were warned not to follow the fire trucks but to no avail. I remember Arnold Kallbacka loved to race to the fire.
For many years, the first firemen to the station drove the truck and some of the firemen just drove their cars because they could not all fit on the truck. When the siren would sound the firemen would call in to the telephone operator and get the address of the fire. They finally had to have a password so the operators knew which ones were really firemen and that had to be changed often.
Like I said, some loved to follow the truck and sometimes the firemen would set up a fake call just to catch those who followed the fire trucks. It didn’t matter how many times they did it, Arnold Kallbacka was always right there. I think they gave out many tickets and I think Kal got his share. He was such a fun guy.
Things have really changed over the years. The firemen now have pagers that go off when a call comes in for a fire. They all go to the station and man the trucks to go to the fire.
It seems like every year West Mountain catches on fire and the dump usually has several. There have been some serious fires in Payson and surrounding areas.The firemen go to car accidents and get cats off of poles (yes, they have even been called out for that, believe it or not).
The fire department has so many good, dedicated men. Theron Hill has been there about 47 years and Frank (my husband) has been there for about 46 years. They are the two oldest active firemen and probably the oldest in age, also. There is now a paid fire marshal, Scott Spencer, and two assistants, Dean McCoy and Marc Carter.
We've lost a lot of good men from the department, including Nyle Thatcher, Duane Patten, Don Patten, Reed Brimhall, Bud and Dick Harmer, Sherm Loveless and more. We miss them. Sometimes we don’t appreciate the firemen until we need them for a fire. Those men jump the minute their pagers go off, no matter where they are, and race to the station. If ever you see a car with its hazard lights flashing, move over; it s probably a fireman rushing to save someone s property or a EMT going to save someone s life.
The fire department has changed over the years and it s so fun to look back and remember when....
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