New Fire Department Above, left; Board member Leah McComas, dressed in the “We Can Be Our Own Hero” outfit, explains the evacuation checklists that will be given to everyone in attendance. Above, right; Coal Creek Fire Department Chief Garret Ball attended and spoke at the event and met with CPCFPA Board President Barbara Mazurowski.[/caption]

The Crescent Park Community Fire Protection Association hosted the First Annual Fund-raising and Education event at the Coal Creek Canyon Improvement Association Hall on High 72 on Friday, June 17, 2022. On their first-year anniversary, the CPCFPA volunteer board of directors hosted the Fun Friday Fete from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The evening of celebration began with spicy mocktails, fiery food and lots of silent auction item selections. The mocktails included Cranberry Ginger Lemonade, Arnold Palmer Iced Tea Lemonade, Mango Lemon Ginger, Spicy Virgin Bloody Mary and a Ginger Lemonade.

During that time, CPCFPA Board President Barbara Mazurowski said the Fire Department is part of the C-Four, which works with fire departments in the area to collaborate and help obtain grants.

Coal Creek Fire Department Chief Garret Ball attended and spoke at the event. He has been chief for seven years has been with the department for 17 years. His department includes four fire stations, two on Highway 72, one near Golden Gate State Park and one near Blue Mountain. Ball said he wanted to support the new fire department any way he could.

Leah McComas, who helped organize the event, said she is a retired school teacher. She taught at Boulder High School and just retired. She helped establish the organization as a non-profit. “If one of us is safer, we are all safer.”

At about 6:50 p.m., Inge Sengelmann and McComas drew for door prizes. Winners could select from items on a table that included small quilts, red hot toffee and other items.

They introduced a video produced by Board Secretary Jean Tinder that included shots of the recent Marshal Fire in Louisville and quotes: “Together our community is safer. All of us are safer when we work together.”

Board President Mazurowski welcomed everyone, about 40 people. Our mission statement is to protect families and pets.

“We need you to help us.” She said Leah McComas and Inge Sengelmann planned this event, and she introduced the rest of the Board: Tony Carmeli, vice president; Steve Shelton, treasurer, and Colonel (Ret.) David “Bosco” Murphy. She also acknowledged the sponsors for the event and those who contributed silent auction items.

Chief Ball continued the theme that we are all safer if we work together. We need your help if we are going to continue to be safe. We also need to improve ingress and egress.

He has been a first responder for 30 years, and we are seeing exponential growth. It used to be that we had a while to let people know if a fire threatened, but now they have to let people know in a matter of minutes.

The Board would like to see the community become a Firewise Community, which is a community that meets criteria for eligibility. It requires a risk analysis and an action plan. It will assist in getting grants and with insurance companies.

Board Member Dave Murphy presented the CPCFPA plan and preparing for grants, and said, “We are as safe as our weakest member.”

Murphy said that all kinds of grant money is available, but the neighborhood has to show a commitment. They need the three fire zones around houses cleared, fire breaks and cisterns. Emergency vehicles have to turn trucks around, so they need emergency routes.

Murphy asked why they are having a fund-raising event. They need to raise money because grants require matching funds. When people work as a team, they can raise $29 an hour. They have to report their work on the website, to be counted. If you work by yourself, it can be reported but not counted toward the funds.

Murphy said the plan is 40 pages long, and they will have it on their website in a couple of days. They will coordinate with federal and state agencies and cooperate with Chief Ball.

According to the risk review, residents in the area are at 93 percent low risk, but as a neighborhood, they are at high risk with fires blowing up through the canyons and Highway 72.

They are concentrating on Summer/ Winter Corner because they have only one way in and one way out. Murphy talked about hardening your residence.

The organization will do a high-fidelity assessment of homes in the neighborhood. Links are available to state resources that will explain the zones and the four escape routes from Coal Creek Canyon on the Jefferson County Sheriff’s website.

The Board suggested that everyone prepare a go bag to be ready for a fire, and they handed out backpacks and an evacuation checklist to those in attendance. Folks can sign up for a lookout alert for email and phone.

The Board is looking for a forester and can use a lot of volunteers, and they suggested checking on neighbors in case they haven’t heard about this.

The evening ended with a question- and-answer session, more food and drink and the results of the silent auction.

For more information about CPCPA, go to https://www.crescentparkfireprotection.org/home. To subscribe for email notifications in Jefferson County go to https://www.jeffco.us/511/Fire-Restrictions-Bans or go to your sheriff’s office. Also go to https://www.rotarywildfireready.com/ for the evacuation checklist and how to prepare for fire, and Firewise USA, https://www.nifc.gov/fire-information for updates.