By Briana Kelley | [email protected]

South Jordan City’s newest fire station is open and operational, following a formal hose-cutting ceremony held on Dec. 13. Fire Station 63, located at 10451 South 1055 West in South Jordan, is the city’s third fire station. Its purpose is to increase fire protection as well as reduce response times for emergency medical and rescue response on the east side of the city.

“It’s a very exciting thing for a fire department to add a new fire station,” Battalion Chief Clayton Miller said. “We’re especially excited to be a new member in this part of the neighborhood and want people to feel welcome to come and see the new building anytime.”

Miller, one of South Jordan’s three battalion chiefs, oversaw the design and construction of the new station. Construction began in September 2015 and was completed last December of. This was a typical timeline for a complex building of this nature, according to Miller.

The new station was built in response to the growth South Jordan has experienced in the past years. The ratio of residents to firefighters for the city is roughly 1,100 people per firefighter, according to city officials. As the population continues to grow, more fire stations will be constructed; a fourth one is already anticipated in Daybreak.

“As anybody that lives in this area has seen, there is a lot of expansion in commercial growth as well as residential growth on the east side of our city,” Miller said. “So housing a fire station in this location will allow us to decrease our response times to our customers on the east side of town as well as back up our other fire districts covered by our other fire stations.”

City Manager Gary Whatcott noted during the presentation that the station was built without accumulating any additional debt and was paid for with cash. The city hired Valley Design and Construction and MHTN Architects for the design and construction. They also partnered with Salt Lake City Fire Department to help find and train employees.

Station 63 is a 12,645-square-foot, two-story building that includes two apparatus bays for a fire engine and ambulance, a training room and a community safe haven site. It can house up to seven firefighters at full capacity and includes a kitchen, dormitories and workout facilities. Typically, five firefighters will be working at any one time. Firefighter shifts are 48 hours on, 96 hours off. 

“We will run an engine with a minimum of three people and some days four, and we will also have a medic ambulance that has a paramedic and an advanced EMT,” Miller said. “So a total of seven firefighters could run out of this at full capacity, but generally we will see about five firefighters running out of here—an engine and an ambulance.”

The station’s training room will also serve as a community room and will offer classes typical of other South Jordan fire stations, including CPR classes, fire safety merit badge classes, basic first aid classes and other community outreach programs. Residents may also hold public meetings and events here. Residents interested in participating can contact the city’s main number and will be put in contact with the city’s fire department assistant.

During the ceremony, Fire Chief Andy Butler and Mayor David Alvord both emphasized the sense of pride that residents and officials have in the city’s stand-alone fire department and in this newest addition. Butler thanked the community for its generous support as well.

“We’re really excited,” resident Mandi Coombs said. “My boys and I have watched this station being built, and we had to come see it now that it’s done.”