Morgan County receives addition of part-time first responders

Morgan County’s fire and EMT departments are excited about the addition of part-time first responders, an opportunity for volunteers that just recently became compensated. In a highly stressful and demanding environment due to the nature of the job, these volunteers sacrifice time and effort to be the first responders on the scene to ensure the safety and well-being of residents and visitors alike. 

Honor Helleksen is one of the County’s first responders who is a FF/AEMT and the administrative assistant for Morgan County Fire. He shared that he started as a “baby EMT in 2019 and quickly fell in love with the town, the people, and the fire department.” The fire department put Helleksen through fire school hosted at the station in 2021 and advanced emergency medical technician school at Weber County Sherrif’s office in 2020. Wearing a lot of hats, Helleksen does respond to emergency calls on the ambulance as an AEMT and on the engines as a firefighter but also does a lot of administrative work including processing paperwork, ordering supplies, paying bills, along with creating the work schedule for all the volunteers, part-time firefighters, and EMTs. Helleksen also deals with payroll, budgets, organizing events, managing social media, and any other tasks that the Fire Chief or Fire Marshal may need. 

 While Helleksen has more responsibilities, it is just a glimpse into the busy life of a first responder. In Utah, most firefighters are required to be cross-trained. To be hired at a full-time department, one must be certified as an emergency medical technician, Firefighter I, Firefighter II, Hazardous Materials Awareness, Hazardous Materials Operations, and depending on where one works in Utah, it may also be required to have a certification in wildland fire as well. In all, it totals around 544 hours of training. Morgan is a unique fire station because it is one of the only fire stations in Utah still mostly dependent on volunteers. “I think speaks to what incredible people this town tends to produce,” commented Helleksen. “As a volunteer, you aren’t required to come to us with any certification. We look for passionate, selfless individuals who want to serve their community and train them to do just that. So many people have come to us with no experience, and no certifications, and now years later, they are captains and engineers for departments like Ogden City Fire and SLCFD. Those people still volunteer with Morgan and help train the next generation of phenomenal firefighters.”  

 The paid part-time positions are brand new this year. The chief saw the need for these positions because of the growth in the county and the increase in call volume. The biggest negative aspect of this being a volunteer station is that the volunteers on call respond from their homes. “I have been on the other side of the emergency response system, and I know how an extra five minutes can feel like an eternity when you’re waiting for that ambulance to come help your loved one.” The chief was able to secure a grant to fund part-time FF/AEMTs to be at the station from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Friday. These FF/AEMTs act as first responders, as soon as we receive the call, they jump into a response vehicle and start care or fire attack as soon as they arrive on the scene. This allows our response times to go from an average of 13 minutes to 6 minutes,” commented Helleksen.

“Working for Morgan County Ambulance has been a great way for me to apply the skills I learned in class. I am looking forward to learning more,” said Louize Smith. “I am one of the new volunteers but I love working with and learning from all of my colleagues. Each has something different to offer, and I feel like I am constantly learning.”

To note, the first responders in Morgan County can come from two locations: the Mountain Green Fire Department or the Morgan Fire Department. “As far as differences between the two stations, that’s not something we focus on,” stated Helleksen. “We are two separate fire entities; they are a district serving the area of Mountain Green and we are a department serving Morgan County, but we are brothers in arms. Our ambulance transports their patients after their first responders provide initial patient care and their engines leave the district when we call for assistance.”

An Emergency Medical Technician class just finished up in Jan. 2023 and an Advanced EMT class will start Jan. 2024. “We have gotten an incredible group of medical professionals from this class. They are all so excited to learn and grow in this field and provide the best care possible to the good people of Morgan County.” For Fire, Morgan is hosting a fire academy taught by UFRA at the fire station in Morgan. Helleksen explained, “We schedule a Fire 1 and 2 class every other year and have had great success. The class began in May with Fire I; they have now completed Fire II and are moving on to Hazardous Materials. In addition to our fire recruits, we also have our friends from North Summit, South Ogden, and Mountain Green joining us for class. We love this dynamic because it lets our firefighters get to know each other and prepares us for when we will inevitably end up on a major incident together.”

For more information about Morgan County emergency services, one can refer to https://www.morgancountyutah.gov/emergency-services. λ