Firemans Fund grant

May 2008: The Lafayette Fire Department recieved a check for $14,950.00 from the Fireman's Fund to help purchase new protective gear.(above photo)

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News and information from Lafayette and Boulder County   5/28/2008 Law enforcement personnel stand outside a collapsed office building along Eastman Park Drive after a tornado struck Windsor, on Thursday May 22.  Colorado Hometown News Group/Lewis Geyer Lafayette engines sent to Windsor East Boulder County participates in tornado rescue By Chris Outcalt Colorado Hometown Newspapers The town was almost completely dark by the time they got there. The Windsor fire station had lights running off a generator and a nearby gas station managed the same, but that was it. Lafayette Fire Lt. Louis Aloi was in charge of the city's engine dispatched to Windsor to help with the aftermath of a devastating tornado that killed one and ravished hundreds of homes. Aloi isn't a rookie. He worked as a fire fighter for years in south Florida and saw more than one destructive hurricane. But as he rode into Windsor on Thursday, May 22, he thought: “This is worse.” “As we started seeing the destruction, it was pretty bad,” Aloi said. “You could tell this town was not going to be the same for a while.” At about 2 p.m., Thursday, Fire Chief Gerry Morrell sent an engine with three firefighters to Longmont in case extra help was needed in Windsor — the town hit hardest by the twister. Aloi headed the engine that was staffed by engineer Greg Chioda and volunteer fighter Mike Gunter. The group spent about an hour in Longmont before heading to Greeley. By 8 p.m., they were in Windsor. “The first hour or so, you’re going through your truck to make sure you have everything," Aloi said. “But after I briefed the guys on what some of the markings on the houses were going to be and what to look for, then it's kind of ‘lets get with it.' You're anxious to help.” In Greeley, they saw large glass windows of buildings shattered. And it only got worse. “As we pulled around, every car in the parking lot had glass broken,” he said. “There were a few areas where cars were piled up like boats at a harbor after a hurricane.” The Lafayette engine was assigned to search houses for anyone that might have been trapped or left behind. Because the town's lights were out, they used head lamps and hand-held lights to search the homes. “There were 100-year-old oaks through the center of houses,” Aloi said. “We ran into a few homeowners that were kind of delirious. We had to explain to them, ‘Your house isn't safe.’” Aloi and the rest of the strike team didn't find any bodies. They did come across a couple animals and a gas leak. “If we hadn't secured that the whole block could have blown up,” he said. By 5 a.m., Aloi, Chioda and Gunter had returned. Lafayette was the southernmost department to make it to Windsor, according to Brown. Morrell said he had residents calling the station asking what precautionary steps to take. “It's been a long time since there was a tornado this close to the Denver metro area,” Morrell said. Two engines from the Mountain View Fire District were also dispatched to Windsor and Greeley to conduct similar search and rescue missions, according to Fire Chief Randy Templeton. Templeton also called in extra personnel to make sure all the district’s stations were fully staffed. “When we heard there were tornado warnings, we made sure we were prepared,” Templeton said. Rocky Mountain Fire Authority administrator Michelle Kelley, who grew up in Weld County, said she'd never seen a tornado that powerful. “We don't have those kinds of tornadoes here,” he said. “We get the smaller ones, the smaller ones are more frequent and common ... it was definitely a surprise to see something that large in Colorado.” The Colorado Ag Disaster Fund has set up a Weld County Tornado Fund to assist farmers and ranchers hit affected by the disaster. Donations can be sent to Weld County Tornado Fund, 9177 East Mineral Circle, Centennial, CO 80122.
All content Copyright © 2007 Colorado Hometown Newspapers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed for any commercial purpose.   November 2008

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11/5/2008 Members of the Lafayette Fire Department watched election results coverage late into the evening at Chip’s Cafe Tuesday, November 4. They were cautiously optimistic that voters would approve Ballot issue 2A.  Colorado Hometown Newspapers/Fran Farris Firefighters celebrate likely passage of Issue 2A 2B also on track for voter approval By Fran Farris Colorado Hometown Newspapers A group of Lafayette firefighters were hesitant Tuesday night to celebrate the passage of Ballot issue 2A — an ambulance and fire mill levy which would generate additional funding for emergency services. Joe Navarro — served as chairman of a political action committee comprised of volunteer firemen who campaigned with vigor for the ballot issue — was cautiously optimistic around 9:30 p.m., as only 3,000 votes had been tabulated out of possibly 10,000 cast. “We’re releasing a lot of pent-up stress and frustration,” Navarro said. The firefighters gathered at Chip’s Cafe in Lafayette to watch the election results, hopeful voters would approve the initiative. As of 10:30 p.m., they liked what they saw from the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder’s Office Web site. Preliminary election results for City of Lafayette , as of 10:30 p.m., were 1,800-1,442 in favor of 2A. 2A would provide $1.5 million in property tax revenue for hiring eight additional full-time firefighters and more than 20 new volunteers, as well as operating and capital expenses such as new ambulances or equipment. If the mill levy passes, it would provide funds to “step up” recruiting efforts for new firefighters, Navarro said. “It would solidify both our career and volunteer firefighter programs.” City of Lafayette Ballot issue 2B is a measure to increase city taxes by $100,000 annually in the first year (2009) and whatever amounts are raised annually thereafter, by the imposition of an excise tax on short-term lodging services of 30 days or less. The proceeds would be used to defer the expense of general municipal services of the city. As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 2B also was headed for approval by a count of 2,042-1,164.
All content Copyright © 2007 Colorado Hometown Newspapers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed for any commercial purpose.

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1/14/2009 More than 4.7 square miles and a handful of structures burned at the Olde Stage fire between Wednesday, Jan. 7 and Friday, Jan. 9, county authorities estimate. Members of all local fire departments responded to the blaze.  Colorado Hometown Newspapers/Mollie Foster Battling the Blaze Community fire agencies aid county with Olde Stage fire By Chalan Harper Colorado Hometown Newspapers All that remains is blackened land and trees, and the ghosts of a few structures — but, for the aid of local and county officials, it could have been a lot worse. This week’s Olde Stage fire sent ash and great plumes of smoke tumbling into the sky, burned more than 4.7 square miles and a handful of structures, between Wednesday, Jan. 7 and Friday, Jan. 9, county authorities estimated this week. High winds whipped the fire and drove flames toward brushland and homes, causing resident and livestock evacuations. As many as 1,400 homes were evacuated Wednesday afternoon and night as the wildfire fanned across the landscape. Most residents were allowed to return to their homes Thursday after firefighters “made a heroic and exhaustive effort” to save homes through the night, Boulder County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Phil West said. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office contacted more than 11,000 homes Wednesday by reverse 911 after fires broke out at 3200 Olde Stage Road, and at 45th Street and Neva Road. A third fire later in the afternoon ignited at U.S. Highway 36 and Hygiene Road. The fires are believed to have been started by downed power lines. High winds stalled efforts to finish off the fire, with some gusts Thursday reaching 40 mph. The gusts not only stirred the flames but kept a helicopter from taking off to douse the fire from the air. At one point, 250 people were engaged in fighting the fire, 125 of them overnight. That heroic and exhaustive effort, as described by Cmdr. West, was not only the work of county officials, but local firefighters that packed up gear and their engines and dashed to the fire scene to lend a helping hand. Among those that pitched in to battle the blaze were firefighters with the Louisville and Lafayette Fire Departments, as well as those with the Rocky Mountain and Mountain View Fire Districts. Among those first on the scene were Lafayette’s reinforcements. According to Fire Chief Gerry Morell, Lafayette sent out a crew on a brush truck, which is a small four-wheel drive truck used to carry about 300 gallons of water. Brush trucks have the ability to set up specifically to fight wildland fires. That crew was one of the first three crews at the scene of the first fire, encompassing about 30-40 acres, Morrell estimated. Once it was determined the fire would continue to get more serious, a type-one engine, like those residents are accustomed to seeing in the city, was also dispatched to the scene. For Morrell, the winds and memories of a previous fire near Olde Stage made this week’s incident a scary one. “This was a big one,” Morrell said this week. “The last Olde Stage fire was about 18 years ago ... I think we lost thirty-some houses, I can’t remember exactly — basically in the same area, but farther west. “This was a huge wind-driven fire that was very scary for everybody involved, especially for homeowners and residents,” Morrell added. In Louisville, firefighters also received the request for assistance from the county, and toned out to the Olde Stage fire at 3:30 p.m, Wednesday. At that time, a type-one engine was sent to the scene with a crew of five firefighters and a battalion chief. At about midnight, on Thursday, Jan. 8, Louisville received another call for assistance and quickly got another crew of six on the ground, and brought the first crew home safely. While residents in the area were being evacuated, Louisville firefighters, among others, were guarding structures against damage. Volunteer firefighter Jon Fearnow, who is certified in fighting wildland fires, was among those on the Louisville crews. Though Fearnow is trained to fight wildland fires, the large-scale operation initiated for the Olde Stage incident was a first for the three-year Louisville Fire veteran. “The scope and the scale of this kind of operation is not even close to what we do on daily basis,” Fearnow said. “Usually it’s four to 10 people — this was over 10 different agencies.” According to Shawn Stark, spokesperson for Louisville fire, the agency employs 60 firefighters, with about one-third of them fully trained in wildland fire incidents. Rocky Mountain Fire, which is based out of Lafayette and Superior, also sent crews to beat back the flames. Michelle Kelly, public information officer for RMF, said the agency sent a type-one fire engine, two brush trucks and a tactical tender out to the scene. A tactical tender is a six-wheel drive vehicle, carrying about 2,300 gallons of water and is able to pump and drive in all sorts of terrain, Kelly said. In total, 14 Rocky Mountain Fire district firefighters were dispatched to the Olde Stage area to help with mitigation and protection of structures, as well as fighting out-breaking brush fires in other areas. “We had some crews out all night long — two crews stayed out all night and all the next day,” Kelly said. The last large-scale fire RMF officials were called in to collaborate on was the Settler’s Park fire, in April, 2008, Kelley said. The Mountain View Fire District, which provides services to Erie, was also on the scene of the initial fire, said Steve Pischke, the organization’s deputy chief. In total, Mountain View dispatched three brush units, one engine, one ambulance and a battalion chief to aid in the effort of containing the initial fire, near 45th Street, as well as fires at Olde Stage Road. Those crews were dually discharged with protecting structures, but when the fire began to move, one crew was assigned to follow, while one crew stayed behind to mop up the remnants of the initial fire, Pischke said. Pischke said Mountain View teams had returned back to the station, and were back in service, by midnight, Thursday, Jan. 8. County officials began estimating the cost of the fire damage Thursday, but those numbers may not be calculated fully for a few days, sheriff’s office representatives reported this week. Only three people have been reported injured in the fire — two firefighters and a police officer — and all the injuries have been minor, according to the sheriff’s office. Colorado Hometown News Group reporters Rachel Carter and Scott Rochat contributed to this report.
All content Copyright © 2007 Colorado Hometown Newspapers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed for any commercial purpose.