SPANISH FORK, Utah — The City of Spanish Fork is making a big change by putting more resources towards fighting fires.
For more than 100 years, Spanish Fork firefighters had all been volunteers.
“Spanish Fork has always been proud of the tradition of the small town hometown feel," said Fire Chief Eddie Hales, "and we still have that here in Spanish Fork. And we're proud of the tradition of volunteerism that we have here.”
But the city is moving away from all-volunteer units to help protect residents and property.
“The need for full-time, to get units on the road faster was needed, and still being able to show respect to the volunteers," said the chief, "and now they're being able to be paid part-time and be paid to work alongside the full-time staff.”
Adding a full-time engine company will cut down on firefighter response time.
“Our response time from home-to-the-station was about 6.5 minutes, and now we're having a fire engine en route within 2-to-2.5 minutes, with about a 5-to-7 minute response time," Hales added.
The department covers around 600 square miles of land between the city and unincorporated Utah County land.
Hales claims Spanish Fork’s growth made the change vital.
“Fire doubles in size every minute," he said. "And so with fire growth, getting water on the fire and stopping the problem sooner than later is vital in saving lives and property.”
