NEDERLAND - The radio signaled Lieutenant Ken Kehoe for his final call on Saturday, August 30, 2025.

The voice of Boulder County dispatch echoed in the vehicle bay of the Nederland Fire Department, as a crowd of over 300 friends, family, and fellow service members sat in silent reverence. 

Emergency vehicles from Sugar Loaf, Coal Creek, Timberline, Boulder Rural, Four Mile, Sunshine, Indian Peaks, and Aspen fire protection agencies, as well as from Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, from Gilpin Paramedics, and many more lined West 3rd Street, with first responders in full uniform coming to Nederland to pay their respects. 

Lt. Kehoe was honored by those in attendance with beautiful words being shared about his serious nature, and how he would subvert that nature with his own particular sense of humor. 

Kris Foudray told her brother Ken’s story—from being, in her view, the sometimes “annoying” little brother who was obviously mom and dad’s favorite, to becoming a loving husband and father and fulfilling his dreams of living in Colorado and becoming a firefighter.

Chief Charlie Schmidtmann named Ken “the calm in the storm” of any emergency call he was on, and recalled how the once-reserved Ken went from sitting quietly in the back of training classes to standing up in front and leading those classes. 

Chief Schmidtmann stated that the life of a firefighter remains tied to the significance of the bell, and that with three rings of the bell, three times, it calls to Lt. Kehoe that the emergency has ended and that he can return to quarters; he can return to safety.   

The honor guard then marched through the middle of the crowd, flags and fire axes in hand, and stood at attention as the station’s vehicle bay doors opened.

Ken’s fellow Nederland firefighters carried him out to the District’s new fire engine, which was named in honor of him, and which led a procession of emergency vehicles through Nederland, the land that he had watched over and protected for 12 years.  

The family has requested that donations be made to the Nederland Fire Protection District in Ken's honor or towards Forrest's education fund, which can be found at the following links:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/education-fund-for-forrest-lazrus-kehoe or

https://www.nfpd.org/how-to-help-donate

There will be a Celebration of Ken's life to be held in the city of his birth, Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday, September 13, 2025.