Published in the March 22 issue of The Mountain-Ear.

Brandy Hale, Gilpin County.

Tuesday’s meeting of the Timberline Fire Protection District Board began with approval of minutes from the previous board meeting, and a roll call that showed that missing members would prevent a scheduled meeting of the pension board, followed by the good news that nothing major had broken since the last meeting. Afterwards, Board

President Smith stated that a neighbor and police officer had asked him about the TFPD website, which has not been updated with general and financial information. The website is new, and Board Secretary Hinderman stated that finding the time and having the credentials to add information was preventing updates, but that it would be made a priority.

Next, President Smith suggested that the TFPD host a Gilpin county meet-the-candidates event since there are 7 candidates running for various offices this year. Candidates would be invited to give a short presentation or talk on their views, plans and platform for the offices for which they are running, with a short biography of their background and qualifications. It was suggested that snacks be available, and the date of April 10, 2018, at 5 p.m., prior to the next board meeting, would be a good time. Promoting the event in local papers and on the TFPD Facebook page was also suggested.

A note was then made regarding the thank-you letters that were being sent out to South Adams County FD for their impressive donation of two extraction equipment sets valued at $60-80k, to Evergreen FD for their donation of 10 helmets, and to East Grand County FD for their addition of 15 more helmets. Board members were asked to make sure they signed the letters. Then Smith read aloud a letter sent by Bea Hanson, a 3rd grader at GPS, in thanks for the work of the department. It was decided to send a response with a TFPD patch included.

Chief Paul Ondr then gave his summary of events, financials and progress since the last meeting. TFPD responded to 53 calls in February, increasing with the seasonal rise in temperature toward the expected 100 or so in July. Next, he discussed the requirements of the recruit and retention grant, with the first group of volunteers doing the DOT physical and expressing hopes for a more firefighter-specific physical in the future. He has intentions of having all physicals, workers’ comp claims and immunizations handled at the same location, specifically SCL Health on Kipling and I-70 in Wheat Ridge, which he called “a one-stop shop” for all the physical needs of the volunteers.

Chief Ondr continued by announcing the completed order of a skid unit for station #10, a self-contained firefighting apparatus that can be mounted on a commercial vehicle to combat fires in areas inaccessible to conventional firefighting vehicles. The Durangos that were ordered a while ago still have no build dates, but they do have VINs, which is an improvement on the progress from the last meeting. The department is awaiting news on the Assistance to Firefighters Grant from FEMA to purchase 30 more gear sets (the full group of accessories that firefighters need to wear when combating fires), since $26k of the $30k allotted for the year had already been used to purchase 13 replacements for outdated gear. Additionally, he announced that truck maintenance would be based on mileage instead of time, since many trucks haven’t gone far or been used much since being maintained, and that this would save the department money on the high MPG and labor-expensive vehicles.

He went on to announce that there would be a meeting with the Rollinsville station scouting group to see a property on the 22nd, and that assistance from station #7 to the

CO Division of Fire Prevention and Control had been made on Sunday the 4th in order to help with the state line fire near the boundary of New Mexico. Ondr then said that several government agencies were having meetings regarding the wildland season, with concerns over light winter snowfall, the dry high country and a possibly unusually warm summer, motivating them. Additionally, an Insurance Services Office audit that required 12 pretend structure fires to be combatted, with water supply, time to fire and other factors being monitored, was met well with 9, and improvements to the water supply (whether from cisterns or trucks) for the other three being done. Agreements with surrounding departments on auto-aid (fast response to areas by outside departments) were being made. These agreements, combined with water supply improvements, are expected to lower the ISO rating, which will benefit homeowners within the district.

Following the Chief’s update, an announcement of the September 8, 2018, date of Timberfest, a fun night for the district, at Roy’s Last Shot from 11 a.m. -6 p.m. Volunteer Appreciation Night will be held on May 5, 2018 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Finally, the board acknowledged the great turnout and success of the Silent Auction and Chili Dinner that was held at the Gilpin Rec Center on March 5. Over 300 people attended, and 24 firefighters worked the event, with a general consensus of the improved tastiness of the chili compared to previous years.