New flag poles and flags stand sentry on the lawn in front of the Lehi Fire Station at 176 N. Center St. and firefighters are busy giving the fire station a spit and polish, even the old fire bell, for an open house on Sept. 11, from 6-8 p.m.

The volunteers and staff appear to have a lot to celebrate at the Lehi Fire/EMS Department. The city has moved ahead with its plans toward a full-time department and hired five full-time EMT/firefighters including a two-generation father/son team, Kim Beck and son, Jake, and Randy Harding, Trent Stanley and Ernie Curwen; and the city's new addition of four offices, five bedrooms and extra bay space have been completed.

"We can send a three-man crew on an ambulance anytime of the day," Fire Chief Dale Ekins said.

"We're in hopes that the next budget session we'll be able to add some firemen so we can send a fire truck out 24/7. Right now this has worked out really nice."

Fresh red paint has been applied to the stand that holds the historical curfew bell, and the bell is at the Metal Arts Foundry.

"It's getting a new finish on it just to make it look nicer," Fire Marshal Kerry Evans said. "It's been hanging here since 1989. Somebody painted it gold and the coat was coming off."

He said he hopes to have the bell back from the foundry in time for the open house.

Made in Cincinnati in 1887, the bell was once an important hub around which town life revolved.

A history of the bell is extracted from "Lehi: Portraits of a Utah Town" by Richard Van Wagoner and its excerpts are as follows:

Mayor George Webb was authorized $50 in September 1887 to purchase a bell which was installed in a belfry atop city hall. The curfew bell rung by the marshal every evening at 9 p.m. at first sent children scurrying to their homes. While the curfew age was eventually raised to 16 and even later to 18 the pealing of the bell soon became ordinary and children could be seen playing under the town's street lights long after dark.

The 20 June 1901 Lehi Banner carried a police warning against "playing games on the Sabbath Day," using "profane language on our streets," and disregarding the curfew. Offenders were warned to obey the law or "find (yourselves) in the clutches of the officers."

Aside from its curfew warning the 9 p.m. sounding of the bell served as the standard for setting all Lehi time pieces. Many a Lehi citizen recalls seeing his father check his watch nightly as the bell sounded its timely signal. The bell also served as a fire alarm and starting in 1895 sounded at 9:30 each Sunday morning to announce Sunday School.

The historic bell remained atop City Hall until a new fire station with a $450 electric siren was completed in 1938.

Fire station open house

Date: Monday, Sept. 11

Time: 6-8 p.m.

Place: 176 N. Center St., Lehi