Anne Scarffe, Peak to Peak. The regular monthly meeting of the Timberline Fire District was called to order at 7 p.m. on August 11, 2020. Jimi King was awarded the Black Helmet as Firefighter One.

When King moved into the canyon in 2016, he started training as a firefighter, but was delayed in his training by a major accident in September 2017, which included ICU hospitalization and rehabilitation for many months. After that he earned his EMT and wildland certifications for assisting with the three fires recently in Coal Creek Canyon.

       Several homeowners from the Roosevelt Ridge subdivision spoke regarding building permits that have been delayed, waiting for building a 30,000-gallon cistern, which was part of the original agreement with the homeowner’s association. 

Originally, the agreement called for one 30,000-gallon cistern to be built with 25 percent subdivision occupancy, but it was not completed. Another cistern was planned for building when the subdivision occupancy reaches 50 percent. 

Each home was supposed to have a 10,000-gallon cistern and sprinklers. Chief Paul Ondr said that the original agreement did not seem “logical” and will renegotiate terms after the first cistern is operating. 

Ondr said this has been a 20-year problem in which discussion has been almost non-stop for the past year because of poor communication with the county, developers, real estate agents, homeowner’s association, title agents and the previous fire district. The Board agreed to wait for a few months but decided to continue the building permit ban.

In March 2020, Colorado Governor Polis declared the state a disaster due to COVID-19, then the County and Fire Protection District made a declaration. The Board voted to continue the disaster declaration to avail of relief funds, and a Stage 2 Fire ban is still in effect.

The Board approved an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Golden Gate Fire District for training. Timberline has about 60 firefighters on their roster. Both departments are restructuring their training with recruitment and retention emphasized. 

Timberline has planned instructors, with Chief Bondus doing a lot of the administrative work, and Lt. Arendt doing instruction and training plans for the fire academies. Golden Gate District has several “squared away” individuals who can assist with training Timberline with topics like tactical rescue training. 

Chief Ondr brought the suggestion to the Board for consideration, citing both agencies can learn from each other and respect each other’s time and efforts. He discussed the job performance rating (J.P.R.) training that could benefit each department’s training programs.

New training starting in October 2020 is a 36-hour basic class as a primer for volunteer recruits with separate credentials for Firefighter One. Ondr suggested that the joint IGA could help build the community. The Board approved the IGA, with one, three and six month reporting of progress back to the board starting in October 2020.  

The next monthly meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on September 15, 2020, at Station #5 by Taggert’s in Mid-Gilpin County.  

(Originally published in the August 27, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)