Police, fire chiefs praise responders after tragic crash; fire open house planned

Police Chief Brown told the Pleasant Grove City Council that recent response to a serious crash prompted a message from a bystander who was first on scene and underscored the emotional burden on first responders. Chief Brown described the scene in general terms and offered a public thanks to police and fire personnel who respond to high‑stress incidents. “The scene as he describes it… I’ve been subjected to that and similar situations hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times,” Chief Brown said. He emphasized the continuing emotional and operational strain and said the incident remained under investigation. The fire chief echoed Brown’s remarks, thanked his team and noted departmental training and staffing updates. He said two part-time employees are in medic school and are expected to graduate next March, and that the department is looking to enroll additional personnel in future medic training. The fire chief also invited residents to a fire safety open house the following day from 4 to 7 p.m. and said staff would have information about wildland‑urban interface (WUI) preparedness. Both chiefs asked residents to recognize the difficulty of emergency work and praised cross‑department cooperation. The council and other speakers also thanked the crews for their service and expressed sympathy regarding the crash and its impact on staff. No formal actions or policy changes were taken; the chiefs used the time for updates, training notes and community outreach announcements.