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September 18, 2014 VOLU M E 1 1 9 | I S S UE 33 | 7 5 ¢
ElbertCountyNews.net E L B E R T C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Fighting fires, staffing obstacles Much of state relies on volunteer emergency crews
By Katie Kuntz and Burt Hubbard Rocky Mountain PBS I-News
Volunteer firefighters protect about half of Colorado’s residents, with solely volunteer departments being responsible for about 70 percent of the state’s land surface. And they are significantly understaffed. The Colorado State Fire Chiefs Association estimates that Colorado is short 3,500 volunteers in meeting National Fire Protection Agency standards. That would require an increase of more than 40 percent to the present force. “Generally, all fire departments that have volunteers need more volunteers,” said Garry Briese, executive director of the fire chiefs association. Like their career counterparts, volunteers are expected to respond at all hours of day and night, often over extended distances, Firefighters continues on Page 15
ABOVE: Firefighters listen to Lt. Mike Heckard after a simulated search and rescue in a burning building exercise during the station’s weekly training at the all-volunteer department in Peyton, Colo., on Aug. 27. Photo by Joe Mahoney/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News LEFT: Firefighters from the Kiowa, Rattlesnake and Elizabeth departments battle a structure fire north of Kiowa in October 2013. The majority of firefighting personnel in Elbert County are volunteers. Courtesy photo POSTAL ADDRESS
LOCAL VOLUNTEER-BASED DEPARTMENTS AGATE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Number of volunteers: 22 Career firefighters: None Population served: 400 Size of jurisdiction: 377 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 5.8 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 55
ELBERT COUNTY NEWS (USPS 171-100)
OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Elizabeth, Colorado, the Elbert County News is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ELIZABETH, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 11 a.m. Legal: Thurs. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 10 a.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
Elbert County relies on volunteers Staff report Elbert County is primarily served by eight fire departments, and of those, all but one overwhelmingly relies on volunteers. Only the Elizabeth Fire Protection District can count even a third of its personnel as career firefighters. The Kiowa Fire District, which protects the county seat, has two paid employees: the chief and the deputy chief. The remaining personnel consists of 25 volunteers, who are tasked with putting out fires and responding to medical calls across 324 square miles, not including providing mutual aid to neighboring districts. Kiowa Chief Gerry Lamansky recognizes the challenges faced by his department and all volunteer-based departments. “With today’s economy, you’ve got people working 40 hours a week or 60 hours a week, working two jobs, then you ask them to put their time in as a volunteer firefighter,” he said. “We’re lucky. We’ve got a group of dedicated people.” Lamansky said the majority of his firefighters are in their early 20s and do not have families, which gives them the free-
dom to dedicate more time to battling blazes and whatever else they’re confronted with. By the same token, they’re less experienced. Training, however, is a must, he said, and within a year, they are expected to meet state-certification requirements. The expectations are high. “But these guys are all doing it for free,” Lamansky said. The chief — who has more than 30 years of fire service under his belt, including at a fully paid district — said his department is lucky enough to be able to schedule firefighters in shifts, generally 12 hours at a time on their days off from their day jobs. In many volunteer-based departments, he said, firefighters carry around pagers, poised to react at a moment’s notice. Regardless of location or department size, being a volunteer firefighter at a rural district is not all about taming wildland or structure fires. Lamansky said about 75 percent of his department’s calls are medical. In short, volunteer firefighters in Kiowa and elsewhere have to be up for anything. “Sort of a jack of all trades, master of none,” Lamansky said.
BIG SANDY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT (SIMLA)
Number of volunteers: 24 Career firefighters: 1 Population served: 2,700 Size of jurisdiction: 550 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 4.5 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 9.3
ELBERT FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 21 Career firefighters: None Population served: 2,000 Size of jurisdiction: 180 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 11.7 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 10.5
ELIZABETH FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 30 Career firefighters: 17 Population served: 13,000 Size of jurisdiction: 111 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 42.3 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 3.6
FRANKTOWN FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 50 Career firefighters: 18 Population served: 10,000 Size of jurisdiction: 155 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 43.9 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 6.8
KIOWA FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 25 Career firefighters: 2 Population served: 2,500 Size of jurisdiction: 324 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 8.3 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 10.8
NORTH CENTRAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 13 Career firefighters: 0 Population served: 2,100 Size of jurisdiction: 75 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 17.3 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 6.2
RATTLESNAKE FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Number of volunteers: 50 Career firefighters: 8 Population served: 3,500 Size of jurisdiction: 66 sq. miles Firefighters per 100 sq. miles: 87.9 Firefighters per 1,000 residents: 16.6
SOURCE: I-NEWS research