Centennial Fire Department

This last month the Kaysville Fire Department had its Centennial Celebration. I feel very fortunate to be part of an organization with such a long proud history.

To celebrate we had a banquet at the fire station. We invited anyone who had ever worked for the fire department and their spouses. There was a pretty good turnout, around 200 people showed up, including quite a few old timers, a few of which were pushing 100 years the selves. Kaysville city had it catered and the Farmington Fire Department came out to serve us.

Ariane and myself with Angie and James Wade.

The fire department was officially organized on May 4, 1911. The first piece off firefighting equipment, other than the standard bucket brigade, was a hose cart reel purchased for $75. Similar to the one pictured here. A small shed was placed on the old Relief Society grounds on Main Street to house the hose cart and fire hose.

Their first fire engine was made out of an old Hudson car in 1922. It had a water tank, a pump and a hose. They used this until 1929 when an American LaFrance Pumper truck was purchased, similar to the one pictured here. It was the beginning of a long line of different fire engines and trucks.

The Emergency Medical Service First Responder Program began in 1986. The department did not have an ambulance at this time; it was operated by the Davis County Sheriff’s Office. They would respond to calls and assist the Sheriff’s Department on medicals.

We no longer push a hose cart or build our own fire engines out of old cars. Our station is now a nice state of the art building with five bays that house two engines, one ladder truck, three ambulances, two brush trucks, one heavy rescue truck and a hazardous materials trailer instead of an old shed with one hose cart and 500 feet of hose. We have our own ambulances now and don’t rely on the county to provide one for us. The one thing that hasn’t changed in the last one hundred years is the dedication and bravery of the firefighters.

My engine Company. From L-R My Self (Firefighter Scott Boomer Bredthauer), Captain James (Jimmy) Dotson Jr., Firefighter Keri Harwood, Engineer David Snowball and Firefighter Jared Harvey