History

  1. 1950s to 1980s
  2. 1980s to 2000s
  3. 2010s to 2020s

Early Fire Coverage

Prior to 1955 the only fire protection for Syracuse City came from Davis County. Because this coverage was inadequate, Syracuse City and Davis County jointly hired Clearfield Fire Department to service the calls at a shared cost of $50 per call.  

In April of 1955, the county discontinued their share and Clearfield increased the cost to $100 per call.  Layton City Fire Department offered their services for $50 per call, however, the distance and response time made this impractical. 

Creating the Syracuse Fire Department

In December of 1964, Clearfield City declared that they would no longer give fire protection to Syracuse. On June 23, 1965, Councilmember Lawrence Briggs proposed that if Syracuse had their own department, fire insurance rates would decrease.  A joint meeting between West Point and Syracuse City Council took place almost immediately and the Syracuse Fire Department was established.

A 1946 Ford Pumper was purchased and by September, a small fire station was built, a siren was ordered (believed to be the same one used today), and volunteer firefighters were trained by Mr. Tanner, State Fire Marshal. 

Keith West was selected as the first fire chief of Syracuse, resigning in December 1965 because of extended hours in his regular job. Chief West passed away on March 14, 2014, at the age of 97.

Growing the Department

On January 5, 1966, Roy Miya was appointed by the city council as the new fire chief with Val Cook being elected by the volunteer firefighters to serve as his assistant. The fire department had 25 volunteers who provided fire protection to Syracuse and West Point Cities, and for $500 per year also provided fire protection to the unincorporated area belonging to Davis County.

In January of 1968, the city council with the recommendation of the fire department decided to purchase a larger fire truck and build a meeting room for the firefighters.  The chief received $25 a month, and volunteers received $2 for each meeting. For fire responses, firefighters received $3 for the first hour and $2 an hour after that. 

Roy Miya served faithfully for 19 years, retiring the last day of December 1984. Chief Miya passed away on September 4, 1998.

Chief Keith West (1965-66)

Chief Keith West (1965-1966)

Chief Roy Miya (1966 - 84)

Roy Miya (1966 - 1984)

Chief Tom Jensen (1985 - 98)

Tom Jensen (1985 - 1998)

Chief Craig Cottrell (2007 - 11)

Craig Cottrell (2007 - 2011)

Chief Eric Froerer (2012 - 2017)

Eric Froerer (2012 - 2017)

Chief Aaron Byington (2017 - Present)

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