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Sandy Fire recounts more than a century of service as department grows toward new Station 31
Summary
Retirees and current members told an oral history of the Sandy Fire Department’s origins and growth, highlighting volunteer roots, community-funded equipment, paramedic training, and recent expansion to 103 personnel amid construction of Fire Station 31.
Speaker 1 opened the presentation by saying the program was intended to help many new staff "realize what makes Sandy City such an outstanding place to work," and noted the department has reached 103 personnel as Fire Station 31 is being built. "We've hit a 103 people this year," Speaker 1 said, framing the oral history as context for recruitment and training.
Speakers traced the department’s earliest roots to a city hire in 1893 of a fire inspector and the formal organization of the Sandy Fire Department in 1908 with 12 members. Speaker 2 described early youth outreach through a Sandy Youth Fire Club in 1912 that taught basic firefighting skills to 12‑ to 14‑year‑olds and said the department later bought a Model A three‑tank chemical truck in 1928 with funds raised by firefighters themselves.
Several speakers recounted community fundraising milestones: firefighters raised money through events such as boxing matches and baseball games to buy a bell and construct a bell tower at the Old Town Station on Main Street. Speaker 2 said the bell was used until 1939, when the department adopted a roller siren to signal apparatus and provide directional cues on calls.
Longtime members described the shift from an almost entirely volunteer force to the present mix of career and volunteer staff. Speaker 4 said they began as a volunteer in 1975, recalled early full‑time pay of $625 per month and said the department grew to five stations and about 100 firefighters by the time they served as chief. Speaker 5 gave a specific station milestone: "We opened Station 33…06/13/1978," and recalled that first night’s events and the personal impact of helping residents during crises.
Operational developments were highlighted as well. Speaker 8 said the department initially lacked an ambulance, trained internal EMTs and raised about $30,000 to buy the city’s first ambulance, which volunteers operated — a change that Speaker 8 described as a ‘‘huge change’’ for emergency medical services in Sandy. Speaker 12, who joined in 1995, noted that paramedic training became more common and that the department now recognizes the importance of talking about mental‑health impacts from difficult calls.
Speakers repeatedly emphasized camaraderie and public trust as central to the department’s identity. "To me, once firefighter, always firefighter," Speaker 7 said, and multiple presenters described firefighting as both a vocational calling and a tight‑knit culture built on mutual support.
The session closed with Speaker 1 noting that the department is approaching 125 years since its organization and pledging continued training and service as Sandy Fire moves into the future. No formal actions, votes or policy decisions were recorded during the presentation.
