“It’s an EMERGENCY! Quick--Call 911!” Even though none of us ever want to face a crisis situation, the reality is: it happens. And when it does we want someone there FAST! Someone who’s capable and skilled.
The newly finished Pleasant View Fire Station is here to meet those challenges. Located at 370 W. 4300 N., Pleasant View City, it is situated high in the community to enable a prompter response time.
Captain Matt Lee, recently promoted, is excited about the new facility and overseeing his crew. He is passionate when talking about being an emergency responder. He even let me put on his full fire fighter gear so I might get a glimpse of what it’s like. Let’s just say it was HOT, HEAVY and SWEATY!
Years ago, Lee had a life changing event that led him onto the path of becoming a fire fighter. He says, “My brother was in an accident on the freeway in 2004. He ruptured his spleen. I was upset, at the time--that the EMT didn’t know he had a ruptured spleen. Seeing him there made me want to be an EMT and then I went into the Fire Fighter Academy.”
The Pleasant View fire station began construction in August 2016 and was complete by June 2017 with an open house held on June 29th. A large rock tribute stands outside the front of station with the words engraved, “Special thanks to the Jay and June Wadman family for their generous donation of this property to Pleasant View City for the building of this fire station. Special thanks also to Wadman Corporation for helping make Jay and June’s vision come to life!”
With the growth of the neighboring cities: Harrisville, North Ogden and Pleasant View, residents have continued to build further up the mountain. And with the growth of construction, North View Fire District has also been trying to hire more people to keep up with and plan for the future. This is why a second fire station has been in the works for a while.
According to Deputy Fire Chief, Jeremiah Jones, of the North View Fire District, “As far as the north end (of Pleasant View) everyone has to go up the hill. Our response times were near 11 minutes before Station #22. We like to be there within 4 to 6 minutes. Our number one concern is safety for the public and safety for ourselves.”
Jones also adds, “Our area is unique because we have a lot of urban interface where a lot of the houses are built right alongside the vegetation and those pose dangers-- especially the topography of dry grasses and oak brush. There was a fire last year in Pole Patch. We have a lot of opportunities for that to happen.”
Four members of the crew are at the North Ogden and while a three person crew is at Pleasant View Fire Stations. Starting in 2004, there were roughly two calls per day and now there are anywhere between 8-11 emergency calls a day.
If you’ve ever wondered how the staff at a Fire Station works here’s the breakdown: Fire Chief is the top, Deputy Chief (over fire operations), Deputy Chief part Time (over EMS operations). Next, there are 6 Captains who are in charge of their crews. Followed by drivers who are responsible for driving the fire trucks, and, of course, the firefighters.
Jones says, “Captains are responsible for their crew and making their daily assignments. He’s there to make sure policies are followed and then he reports to the Deputy Chief and they report to the Fire Chief. If we happen to get 2 ambulance calls, all of our firefighters are trained EMT’s.”
Did you know that 80% of the calls within the North View Fire District are medical—anything from car accidents to heart problems?
“If there are multiple calls down here, (in North Ogden), Pleasant View will serve as a backup. We all work together in Weber County. Dispatch sends to everyone so we don’t have to think about who to call. We get a certain amount of fire trucks and ambulance and paramedics on every call. We all help each other out,” Jones tells us.
The public is welcome to come take a tour of either the North Ogden Fire Station located at 315 East 2550 N. in North Ogden or the new Pleasant View Station on 370 W. 4300 N., Pleasant View.
Or call 801-782-8159 to schedule your next tour, and come say hello to the amazing fire fighter crew in our area!
