• Board of Directors……………….. 10 • Fulltime Employees……………… 12 • Reserves and Volunteers………… 13 • Volunteer Retirees……………….. 17
Facilities………………………………. 18
Apparatus and Equipment…………….. 22
Division Reports………………………. 23
Activities………………………………. 44
Transition Program……………………. 48
In Conclusion…………………………. 67
INTRODUCTION
It is our pleasure to present the Annual Report for 2009 for the Cortez Fire Protection District. As we complete our first year of operations as a combination department, it is with a sense of pride and accomplishment as we have worked to improve the response capabilities of the department and the level of professionalism of our members in order to provide the most efficient and effective level of emergency services for the District. We wish to dedicate this Annual Report to all of the volunteer members of the Cortez Volunteer Fire Department and the Cortez Fire Protection District who have so faithfully served this community for the past 122 years. These volunteers have established a foundation and heritage of service that we must maintain and respect. We are also grateful to the Board of Directors of the Cortez Fire Protection District for their foresight, leadership and support for the transition efforts necessary to provide an improved level of emergency services for the District.
Therefore, as you review this report, we are hopeful that it will high light the many accomplishments of our members and the Board of Directors as we have worked to transition the department while honoring our heritage by continuing to provide quality service for our community.
Don Eberle Fire Chief
DISTRICT INFORMATION
The Cortez Fire Department was formed in 1886 as an all volunteer department to provide service for the City of Cortez. As the rural areas outside of the city began to grow and be populated, the Volunteers provided service to these areas also. Due to the increased demands on the volunteers for service outside of the City, they began to receive a fee of $100.00 per call from the County for their service. However, as the rural service needs increased, it became apparent a better funding source and service delivery system had to be implemented. Therefore, in June of 1986, one hundred years after the beginning of the Cortez Fire Department, the Cortez Fire Protection District was formed. This formation provided a broader revenue base and established definite response boundaries for the department. Then from 1986 until 2008, for 22 years, the volunteers worked hard to provide quality service for the City of Cortez and the rural areas of the District, with call volumes increasing annually and placing greater demands on the volunteers. In 2007, the volunteers and Board of Directors agreed it was time to hire a fulltime Fire Chief and work towards the transition of the department from an all volunteer organization to a combination department, consisting of both volunteer and paid members. On April 14, 2008, the Board of Directors hired its first paid Fire Chief for the District, with the objective of creating a combination department while retaining the strength, dedication and morale of its volunteer members. Then on April 6, 2009, the District hired its first fulltime Assistant Chief to help manage the training, operations, equipment and facilities divisions.
We are pleased to report as we close 2009 that we have successfully transitioned to a combination department with the help of our volunteers, 97% of our volunteers have become reserve firefighters. With our members and the hiring of seven reserves from outside the department, we are able to provide the staffing of a three-member engine company, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Therefore, with our reserve staffing and support from the volunteers, we have greatly improved the response demands of our District.
Our call volume has more than doubled from 440 calls in 2008 to over 1,000 calls for 2009. Our on-duty staffing has allowed us to respond to emergencies within the City and the rural areas of the District within the time standards as established by the National Fire Protection Association of three to five minutes within the City and eight to ten minutes in the rural areas. This improved response level has allowed us to provide life saving efforts for the citizens of our District as well as better protection for their property from the ravages of a fire.
Currently, the Cortez Fire Protection District covers 163.5 square miles; this also includes the city limits for the City of Cortez. The District population is approximately 13,500. We have approximately 4,500 residential properties, 470 commercial businesses, over 30 industrial occupancies, 40 churches, 14 schools, 6 care facilities, 1 hospital and 1 detention center. The District also has three major highways, Highway 145, Highway 160 and Highway 491, and considerable open space consisting of multiple jurisdictions of private, county, state, federal and tribal control. Besides our established population, the seasonal events can daily increase our population from 2,000 to 5,000 people per event.
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Journal/Sam Green Jeff Vandervoorde is the new assistant fire chief for the Cortez Fire Department.
Cortez district signs up new assistant fire chief Vandervoorde will oversee firefighter training, procedures
Steve Grazier Journal Staff Writer
The Cortez Fire Protection District recently filled its second major paid position in a year with the hiring of a new assistant fire chief.
Jeff Vandervoorde, of Antioch, Ill., began his duties as the No. 2 in charge at the Cortez Fire Department on Monday. As a veteran firefighter, he has more than 25 years of full-time experience as a firefighter and assistant fire chief.
"I want to help move the department forward and improve on our operating procedures and safety standards," Vandervoorde said about his new position.
The assistant chief will oversee firefighter training, and standard operations and procedures. He will take charge of incoming calls from dispatch that require the services of Cortez firefighters.
"I'll be conducting performance evaluations on calls and see where we might be deficient and need some improvement," he said.
Vandervoorde officially takes over for Darryl Buffington, who was a volunteer-elected assistant fire chief with the department. Buffington remains on staff as a volunteer firefighter.
Overall, Vandervoorde, 52, said he will emphasize teamwork, safety and the use of proper equipment for everyday city firefighters. He also plans to assist with the department's instant-command system to help get firefighters to an incident more efficiently.
"I'll be doing a lot with EMS training and (team) cohesion," he said.
The new assistant chief said he researched the Cortez position over the Internet and felt he would be a good fit because of his experience with paid and volunteer firefighters at the Antioch Fire Department in Illinois.
"It seemed like the right fit to come here," Vandervoorde said.
The Cortez Fire Department has 18 paid or "reserve" firefighters on its staff and 31 volunteers. Some paid firefighters also serve as volunteers for the Cortez department or other Montezuma County fire districts.
In March 2008, the department's first paid fire chief, Don Eberle, began working for the city.
Vandervoorde said Southwest Colorado was attractive to him and his wife, Karen. The couple have two daughters and plan to retire in the Cortez area. He also noted his love for fishing.
On the Net: Cortez Fire Protection District, www.cortezfire. com.
The current ISO rating is 4/10. However, due to our increased staffing levels, improved training, equipment upgrades, an adopted personnel manual, standard response guidelines, and a strong city water system, as well as, a newly adopted water-tender shuttle agreement between our neighboring departments for rural water supply; I believe we have a good chance of improving our current ISO rating during the 2010 review of the District.
The Cortez Fire Protection District covers 163.5 square miles. It extends from Lewis/Arriola to Towaoc and from Mancos to the Utah boarder
WE SAVED THE FOUNDATION
RESERVE/VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTER GLORIA BALFOUR – TIME FOR A BREAK AFTER A 2:00 AM FIRE
BUDGET DATA
The Budget for 2009 was developed around the goals of our Transition Program with the primary objectives of:
• Hiring of paid members
• Developing living quarters for twenty-four hour personnel
• Providing adequate compensation for both Reserves and Volunteers
• An improved training program
• Additional fire and EMS equipment
The mill rate of 4.320 generated approximately $551,440 in tax revenues and our voter approved mill levy of 2% has helped generate additional revenue of $255,113. These revenue sources plus carry over revenues and transfers from the District reserve fund has allowed us to develop a budget for 2009 of $1,090,395. The Tabor amendment has made it extremely hard for special districts in Colorado to adequately meet the service demands of their districts. However, with direction from the Board of Directors and good fiscal management we have met our budget goals and have not needed an increase in the mill levies.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
Claudia Applin Chad Daniels Matt Lindsay Alex Archuleta Cory Elliott Nick Martinez Brian Balfour Kenny Ford Toby McCoy Gloria Balfour Jeremy Gonzales Nic McDonald Daniel Barfield Les Ham Jeff Perry Roger Beckermeyer Cody Hill Mike Ptaszynski Jason Bell Leslie Johnson Rob Raney Zac Brock Adam Kennedy Mike Romine Les Brown Chris Kingery Charlie Rosenbaugh Darryl Buffington Justin Lindsay Chris Sharp Ryan Buffington Kent Lindsay Cody Shutt
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors consists of five members elected by the voters of the District, through a non-partisan election, with each member being elected to a four year term, with elections held every two years. The Board holds regular monthly Board meetings at Fire Station #1, 30 N. Ash St., Cortez, CO. The current Board members are: Mr. Keenan Ertel, Chairman, Mr. Jim Bridgewater, Secretary/Treasurer, Mr. Jay Balfour, Member, Mr. Jack Click, Member, and Mr. Hal Shepherd, Member.
BOARD MEMBERS
Keenan Ertel – Chairman Jim Bridgewater – Secretary/Treasurer
Jay Balfour – Member Jack Click – Member
Hal Shepherd - Member
BOARD RECOGNITION
Board of Directors service award presentation to Mrs. Claudia Applin, for her years of service as Dean of the Fire and EMS Division of San Juan Basin Technical College, and for Mr. G.W. McCutcheon for his years of service as a Volunteer Fire Fighter and as a Member of the Board of Directors.
PERSONNEL
Full Time Staff
Don Eberle – Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde – Asst. Chief Start Date Start Date 04/14/2008 04/06/2009
Brandon Johnson – Fire Inspector Nancy Crummett – Adm. Asst. Dept. Start Date – 09/01/2000 Start Date FI Start Date – 01/02/2007 01/18/2000
PERSONNEL
Reserves and Volunteers
Claudia Applin Alex Archuleta Brian Balfour Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 09/07/2001 09/06/2002 09/01/2000
Gloria Balfour Danny Barfield Roger Beckermeyer Reserve/Volunteer Reserve Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 02/01/2002 10/13/2008 05/05/2007
Jason Bell Zac Brock Les Brown Reserve/Volunteer Reserve Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 03/07/2006 01/01/2009 09/07/2001 PERSONNEL
Reserves and Volunteers
Darryl Buffington Ryan Buffington Chad Daniels Vol. – Asst. Chief Reserve/Vol. Lt. Reserve Start Date Start Date Start Date 09/07/1990 1/01/2004 01/01/2009
Cory Elliott Kenny Ford Jeremy Gonzales Reserve Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 10/13/2008 09/01/2000 03/04/2005
Les Ham Cody Hill Leslie Johnson Volunteer Reserve Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 01/01/2007 01/01/2009 07/10/2007 PERSONNEL
Reserves and Volunteers
Adam Kennedy Chris Kingery Justin Lindsay Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Vol. Lt. Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 06/04/2004 09/01/2000 06/05/2007
Kent Lindsay Matt Lindsay Nick Martinez Volunteer Capt. Reserve/Vol. Lt. Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 09/07/1990 09/07/2001 06/05/2007
Toby McCoy Nic McDonald Jeff Perry Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 01/01/2000 03/07/2006 01/01/2004 PERSONNEL
Reserves and Volunteers
Mike Ptaszynski Rob Raney Mike Romine Reserve/Volunteer Reserve/Volunteer Reserve Start Date Start Date Start Date 01/08/1999 03/07/2006 01/01/2009
Charlie Rosenbaugh Chris Sharp Cody Shutt Reserve/Vol. Captain Reserve Reserve/Volunteer Start Date Start Date Start Date 02/05/1988 01/01/2009 03/04/2005
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
Facilities:
Currently, the District operates out of five facilities; and Administrative office at 23 N. Washington St., Station #1 at 30 N. Ash St., Station #2 and the warehouse at 6892 Road 24, and Station #3 at 2300 N. Dolores Rd.
Equipment:
We operate a fleet of twenty-one (21) vehicles consisting of:
• Three engines
• One ladder truck
• Two rescue units (heavy and light)
• Three brush trucks
• Four water tenders
• Three staff vehicles
• One service truck (snow plow)
• Two ATV's
• Two antique engines
OUR FACILITIES
Administration Building Fire Station #1 23 N. Washington St. 30 N. Ash St.
Fire Station #2 Fire Station #3 6892 Road 24 2300 N. Dolores Rd.
OUR APPARATUS
FACILITIES
Administration Office:
The Administration office at 23 N. Washington St. in Cortez accommodates the offices of the Fire Chief, Administrative Assistant and the Fire Inspector. During the past year air conditioning was provided that greatly improved the working environment of the facility.
Fire Station #1:
The apparatus at Station #1 has been relocated and rearranged to provide for a drive through bay to improve safety as well as better space utilization. New turnout lockers were made by our Reserve/Volunteer personnel to better accommodate the protective clothing for our additional members. A work/tool room was developed to provide for better work space and a store room for EMS and station supplies was also created. Two coolers were replaced; an office was built for the Asst. Chief and two temporary bedrooms were constructed for our twenty-four hour personnel. The Volunteers have established an historical committee to help preserve the rich heritage of our department. They, in partnership with the District, have had an additional trophy case built to accommodate the trophies and memorabilia that has been acquired over the years. We have relocated the monthly Board meetings to Station #1 and have applied for a Federal Fire Station Construction Grant to help with remodeling of the station to house our twenty-four hour personnel as well as the development of the Board/training room. If the grant is approved, we will be able to provide heating and cooling for the second floor, a lift to accommodate handicapped accessibility for public meetings, a back-up generator for electrical service during power outages, energy efficient windows, a new roof and NFPA approved washer and dryer for turnout clothing.
Fire Station #2:
The upstairs room was cleaned and converted to appropriately accommodate the storage of our structural, wildland and EMS protective clothing.
The warehouse was cleaned of an excess of surplus equipment and insulation and a heating system were provided as well as a new overhead door with an electronic opener. These features have now provided us with greater utilization of the facility.
Fire Station #3:
The office portion of the station was developed to accommodate meetings and training and an HVAC unit was installed to allow for comfortable use of the facility.
APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT
The Volunteer Association purchased and donated to the department, a new TNT Rescue Tool that was placed on Rescue-2, as well as, additional firefighting, rescue and EMS equipment to help enhance the response and operational capabilities of this vehicle. A 2008 Dodge Durango was purchased for the new Fire Chief position. Rescue-2, the 2006 Ford F-350, was converted to the Asst. Chief's vehicle and Brush-5, the 2006 Ford F-550, was converted to Rescue-2 and was housed at Station #1. Engine-1 has been equipped to function as a first-due engine for our Reserve firefighters and then to be supplemented by other apparatus staffed by our Reserve/Volunteer members. Engine-1 has also been equipped with a heart monitor and a new thermal imaging camera, as well as, a new TIC on Engine-3; this allows us to have a TIC on all three of our engines. We have installed new 800 MHz mobile radios in all of our apparatus and additional portable radios for our personnel. Our Reserves were instrumental in saving the District thousands of dollars by being able to perform in-house maintenance on the SCBA air-compressor, Station #2 and Station #3 vehicle air-compressors, as well as, numerous repairs to our equipment, apparatus and facilities. We have also implemented a revised vehicle inspection and maintenance program to better maintain the vehicles, as well as, a vehicle rotation program for our three engines to help reduce the wear on our first out engine from Station #1. All of our SCBA equipment, ladders and pumpers successfully passed their annual testing and the majority of the annual hose testing was completed with only four lengths of hose not passing the pressure test.
Reserve/Volunteer Fire Fighters Leslie Johnson, Matt Lindsay and Ryan Buffington training with the new TNT Rescue Tool. The system consists of: a Bantam 3.0 hp power unit, lightweight combi-cutter with 30 ft. of hose, all valued at $7,800.00
DIVISION REPORTS
Administration:
By Chief Eberle
Besides the successful implementation of the Department's Transition Program, the staff has been instrumental in the revision of the By-Laws for the Board of Directors, the development of By-Laws for the Volunteer Pension Fund, implementation of a department-wide Personnel Policy and Procedure Manual, Revised compensation procedures for Reserve and Volunteer personnel, the development and training in Standard Operating Guidelines for operational safety and efficiency, fiscal management, consisting of the application of grants to help purchase wildland protective clothing and for funds to help in the remodeling of Station #1 for 24-hour personnel. And the continuing process of developing our annual budget based upon the actual needs instead of wants. The Board has also approved of the allocation of a portion of the District's reserve funds to be invested with local financial institutions in order to develop a better rate of return for our tax revenues instead of remaining invested with a state agency that has consistently been showing a declining rate of return. We have purchased a new software program that will allow the firefighters and staff to better maintain incident report data, training records, personnel data, fire prevention information, equipment inventory and vehicle maintenance, and finally we have improved morale and our service delivery capabilities, as well as, increased safety for our personnel by encouraging professional development in firefighting, EMS and implementing an entry level testing program for all Reserves and Volunteers.
We have improved the Agenda format for the Board members, by providing detailed Staff Reports to help the Board members make decisions on District matters by being better informed.
After months of meetings and semi-negotiations, we were able to successfully reach an agreement with Southwest Memorial Hospital to share in the installation costs of the Opticom System, the system that allows fire department vehicles and ambulances to control the traffic signals during an emergency response. We owe a big thank you to our Board Chairman and the department's attorney for helping us bring this issue to a successful conclusion.
In April, upon the completion of the recruitment and evaluation process of an assessment center, we hired an Assistant Chief to help with operations, the development of a training program, and the management of the department's facilities and equipment.
Reserve Fire Fighters Justin Lindsay, Cory Elliott and Chris Sharp performing extrication operations at a vehicle accident at Mildred Rd. and Montezuma Ave.
Fire Prevention:
By Fire Inspector Brandon Johnson
2009 was a very busy yet productive year for our Fire Prevention Division. I conducted over 250 inspections of local businesses for general safety and over 50 inspections for new businesses, change of occupancy and remodeling for new and existing businesses. We also conducted numerous inspections and educational meetings with local restaurant owners and operators, as well as, any facility that had commercial cooking equipment, such as public or private lodges and meeting facilities, to encourage, educate and enforce the new fire code regulations regarding fire safety for cooking equipment and the hood systems. To date we have 98% of compliance with upgraded systems being installed. We also worked closely with the State of Colorado, Division of Fire Safety, and Montezuma-Cortez High School personnel for the successful retrofitting of an approved fire sprinkler system throughout the school facilities, as well as, the installation of a new fire alarm system. We are continuing to promote and expand the number of businesses that have installed Knox Box Emergency Key Systems on their property. To date we have had 23 boxes installed. I have reviewed 35 sets of plans for proposed new construction and remodeling of existing businesses. I have also conducted 15 general fire safety classes for local businesses and trained 265 people with our new portable fire extinguisher training unit.
We have had a very active fire safety education program for our local schools. This year we attended 7 schools and presented programs to over 700 students in grades preschool through third grade.
We have also been an active participant with the Montezuma-Cortez High School Emergency and Fire Management Service Pathway Program, instructed by Ms. Lori Mott, EMT-I and FF-1. With the Department's high call volume this year, I have also been very busy responding to calls, to assist at structure fires, brush fires, vehicle accidents, life threatening EMS calls and conducting 8 investigations to determine the cause and origin of the fires. We were instrumental in assisting the Montezuma County Fire Chiefs' Association with the development of the Red Flag Warning Program, to control open burning during severe fire weather conditions, that was adopted by the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners, to be enforced county-wide. I have also been active in other organizations to help promote fire safety, public education, and school safety for our area. These organizations consist of: Montezuma County Addressing Program, Southwest Colorado Fire Marshals Association, LEPC Committee and chairman of the RE-1 School Safety Team. We have also tried to increase awareness of the local fire danger during fire season by providing two new Fire Danger Signs, one at the airport property off of County Road G and the other at Station #3.
We have also developed a District information pamphlet that offers a profile of the District's origin and services provided. The pamphlets are available at the District office, the Cortez Welcome Center and the Cortez Library. The District's website was also maintained and has been a very beneficial informational element for the public and all of the Department members.
FIRE SAFETY AND PUBLIC EDUCATION AT WORK
Training Division:
By Asst. Chief Jeff Vandevoorde
Since starting in April, I have placed a high priority on setting goals that are realistic and measurable, to guide my decisions regarding our training and daily operations. My first goal was to provide quality training to our members. The key to any training program is encouraging the membership to achieve the highest level of training possible, as well as providing the means by which to obtain the training to achieve their goals. The emphasis on training provides our department with a roster of highly trained individuals who are able to more efficiently and safely respond to the challenges we face when responding to an incident. For example, by training our personnel on how to read smoke, the firefighter can assess with some degree of certainty how bad conditions are inside. With an increase in the number of members attending trainings, and the availability of funding, the task of proper record keeping takes center stage. To meet this challenge, I have started to re-evaluate the current record keeping system and determine ways to improve the process. With the migration to Fire House Software, many of these challenges will be reduced or eliminated all together. This is not only important for keeping our members records in order, but also for ISO, or in the event of an injury or, worse yet, a line of duty death, current and up-to-date training records will be immediately available for review.
While providing the opportunity to attend training and empowering our personnel to share what they have learned at training, in order to be successful there must be some type of real world evaluation. A test at the end of a course will measure if the individual mastered the topic being taught, however, a practical application of the skills truly shows what was or was not gained by the individual. In order to successfully evaluate everyone, I have made it a point to respond on fire and EMS calls to see where our department skill set is right now, and where we need to focus our attention.
After evaluating some of our department needs, Chief Eberle and I thought it very important that we have a strong set of standard operating guidelines in place. This is a project that will take some time but I feel we have a good start. We have broken our SOG's into nine categories and have trained our members on the standard operating guidelines we have already completed and put into place. For standard operating guidelines to be effective our members need to fully understand them.
This year we were able to add more personnel to our reserve force. Part of their job description is that they become Fire Fighter-Ones and First Responders within a year of being hired as reserve members. After checking records from the State, we have five firefighters who are not certified to the Fire Fighter-One level. I thought I would put on a Fire Fighter-One class for those five so they could challenge the State test. Chief Eberle and I decided to open it up to the surrounding departments. We had twenty fire fighters from six other departments sign up to take the class. The Fire Fighter-One Academy started in November and should be completed sometime in March of 2010. After completion of the academy students will be able to take and hopefully pass the State of Colorado Fire Fighter-One examination and, therefore, be certified as Fire Fighter-Ones. Attached is a copy of the Firefighter-One Training Academy course schedule.
For the year 2009, our members were trained in many different areas. Some of the trainings they participated in were search and rescue, fire fighter survival, low angle rescue, ladders, wildland fire fighting, and EMS which are just a few of the trainings our members participated in. Our members had a total of 1,843 hours of training for 2009. I have attached a bar graph to show a break down of training hours per month.
Search & Rescue Drill Forcible Entry Training
Ventilation, On the Job Ladder Drill
Training Hours by Month
January 220
February 239
March 153
April 132
May 141
June 173
July 179
August 111
September 150
October 102
November 166
December 77
Total Annual Training Hours 1,843
Montezuma Training Officers Fire Fighter One Academy Schedule
November:
9. Chapter 1. Orientation and fire service history. 66 slides.
12. Chapter 2. Firefighter safety and health. 125 slides.
16. Chapter 3. Fire behavior. 90 slides. Chapter 4. Building construction. 47 slides.
3. Chapter 6. Portable fire ext. 60 slides. Skills session.
7. Chapter 7. Ropes and knots. 69 slides. Skills session.
10. Chapter 9. Forcible entry. 154 slides.
14. Forcible entry skills session.
17. Chapter 10. Ground ladders. 107 slides.
21. Ground ladders skills session.
28. Chapter 11. Ventilation. 119 slides.
January:
4. Ventilation skills session.
7. Chapter 12. Water supply. 34 slides. Skills session.
11. Chapter 13. Fire hose. 119 slides. Chapter 14 Fire Streams. 65 slides.
14. Chapter 7. Ropes and Knots. 69 slides. Skills session.
16. Fire hose and fire streams skill session.
18. Chapter 15. Fire control. 122 slides.
23. Fire control skills session.
25. Chapter 16. Fire detection, alarm, and suppression systems. 46 slides. Skills session.
28. Chapter 17. Loss control. 87 slides. Loss control skills session.
February:
1. Auto Extraction.
4. Auto Extraction skills session.
8. Chapter 18. Protecting fire scene evidence. 37 slides.
8. Chapter 19. Fire department communications. 87 slides.
11. Chapter 21. Pre hospital EMS. For fire fighters. 90 slides.
15. Chapter 22. Introduction to Hazardous Materials. 131 slides.
18. Chapter 23. Operations at Hazardous Material incidents. 124 slides.
22. Hazardous Materials skill session.
TRAINING DAY
Operations:
By Chief Eberle
Our Operations Division has been very active this year certainly with a call volume that has produced over 1,000 calls for the year. This Division has also developed faster than expected by helping us transition from an all-volunteer department to a combination department consisting of paid members and volunteers. To date, 97% of our Volunteers have successfully completed the testing process to become Reserve Fire Fighters. We have hired seven other people to be Reserve Fire Fighters that are also fulltime fire fighters with the Farmington, New Mexico, Fire Department that live within our District. The roster of Reserves has allowed us to staff an engine company at Station #1 24-hours a day, seven days a week. This staffing has significantly reduced the response burden of our Volunteers and most definitely allowed us the ability to provide quality service while managing a very high call load. The Reserve Fire Fighters have been most instrumental in providing life saving support on EMS calls and also the key factor in controlling some very potentially dangerous and destructive structure fires. Through our Operations Division we have also been very instrumental in helping the students of Montezuma-Cortez High School Emergency and Fire Management Service Pathway Program, as well as, mentoring two students through a Student Ride-A-Long Program for students interested in a career in the fire service.
We have also helped develop a Safe Haven Program for newborns that may be abandoned or given up by their parents. Along with the Reserve Fire Fighter Program, we have designed and implemented a new standardized work uniform that professionally represents the District. New protective clothing for structural fire fighting and wildland fire fighting were provided for all members. We have also implemented a Critique or After-Action Review Program that allows us to review major or unique incidents in order to evaluate our performance and learn valuable information that will help our performance, safety, equipment utilization and training needs. We have developed, trained on and implemented the first section of our Standard Operating Guidelines regarding vehicle safety, equipment staffing and response procedures, fire ground strategy and tactics, standard company operations and fire ground safety. These new guidelines are designed to help us deliver emergency services in a more efficient and safer manner. As reflected on the following page, our calls for service have increased dramatically, however, our members continue to rise to the occasion and provide the quality service that our volunteers and the department have been known for.
WORKING HOUSE FIRE ON COUNTY ROAD P
CORTEZ FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
SUMMARY OF EMERGENCY REPONSES FOR 2009
Structure Fires: 40
Brush Fires: 33
Vehicle Fires: 9
Emergency Medical: 806
Vehicle Accidents: 103
Rescue: 6
Hazmat: 22
Lift Assists: 12
Mutual Aid: 2
False Alarms: 43
Cancelled: 7
Others: 3
Total Responses for 2009: 1,086
SUMMARY FOR LAST FOUR YEARS
Fires EMS Total
2008 210 230 440
2007 215 354 569
2006 276 379 655
2005 236 360 596
OUR MEMBERS ON THE JOB
CORTEZ JOURNAL
DECEMBER 31, 2009
CORTEZ FIREFIGHTER Brian Balfour rescues a dog in December that fell through the ice on a local pond. Fire Chief Don Eberle and firefighters Kenny Ford, Zac Brock and Leslie Johnson pull Balfour and the dog out. The rescue was a total success.
ACTIVITIES
MDA:
The department once again participated in the annual MDA Fill the Boot fund drive with the help of the on-duty crew and Gloria Balfour, Leslie Johnson, Claudia Applin, Ginny McDonald, Nic McDonald, Charlie Rosenbaugh, Jason Bell and Becky Bell. They raised $2,066.00 for MDA, one of the best years ever, in the fight against neuromuscular disease. The support that was raised will help provide those affected by MDA with wheelchairs, leg braces, clinic visits, support groups and a chance for children to attend the local MDA Summer Camp in Empire, CO.
Tri-State:
On August 6th, 7th and 8th 2009, Toby McCoy, Matt Lindsay, Justin Lindsay, Charlie Rosenbaugh, Les Ham and Rob Raney attended the 71st Annual Tri-State Fire Fighters Association convention held at Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, AZ. Besides the competitive events, the members attended training classes on managing pipeline incidents and natural gas emergencies. Our team brought home three trophies; a second place in the four-man event, a second place in the three-man event and a third place in the five-man event. The team is most appreciative to the Board of Directors and the Chief for allowing them the opportunity of once again representing the District during the Annual Tri-State Fire Fighters Association convention. Next year the convention will be held in Mancos, CO.
Control Burns:
The department assisted numerous property owners with stand-by services at control burns throughout the year.
Reserve Fire Fighter Zac Brock finishing up at a control burn.
Santa's Helpers:
Once again the department had the opportunity of escorting Santa on a fire truck for is annual visit with children advising him of their Christmas list.
Santa's helpers – Reserve Fire Fighters Brian Balfour, Leslie Johnson and Zac Brock.
Transition Program:
By Chief Eberle
The attached information is an outline of the Transition Program that we use for public presentations. The primary objective was the recognition of the Volunteer Program and how best to support that system while transitioning to a combination department consisting of both paid and volunteer members. The Transition Study entailed a careful analysis of: the history of the department, an assessment of the community risks, a survey of the District's service needs, an analysis of the department's resources, an evaluation of these components to determine the service delivery model we were at and what model we should be working to achieve, and last but not least, the establishment of the key objectives for the program. The data clearly indicated that, if we were to effectively save lives and property, we must:
1. Implement the staffing of at least a three member crew 24/7
2. Develop staffing and response guidelines
3. Develop a revised set of Standard Operating Guidelines
4. Require and provide certification based training
5. Establish a facilities and equipment maintenance program
6. Provide living quarters for 24/7 personnel
7. Develop a Capital Improvement Program
To date we have successfully implemented almost all of these programs and have significantly improved our service delivery capabilities through the efforts of the Transition Program
As we conclude the annual report for 2009, we hope we have adequately represented all of the hard work and accomplishments of our Board members, volunteers, reserves and paid staff, as we have all worked together to provide professional, quality and efficient service for our community. I also want to express our sincere appreciation to Ms. Nancy Crummett, Administrative Assistant, for all of the hard work she provided in the development of this annual report for 2009.
Respectfully,
Don Eberle Fire Chief
The Long and Short of it for 2009
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Cortez Fire Protection District
23 N Washington Street
Cortez, CO 81321
