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Volunteer Firefighters...The First Line of Defense

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Contributed by: donna hatton on 6/30/2008

Volunteer Firefighters .. The First Line of Defense
by Donna Hatton

The first line of defense for wildland fires most often begins with the volunteer firefighters in rural communities ...

This fire season has kept the Four Mile Fire Protection District in Teller County on constant alert.

In the past few weeks fires ignited by lightning have plagued Teller County in the Four Mile Valley.

On Sunday, June 22, a fire burned 23 acres near the southeast property line of the Hatton Ranch, but by Thursday a fire that had originally started on Tuesday near the Park /Teller County line flared up again and was threatening homes in the Bear Trap sub-developement forcing evacuation of families in that area.

Fighting a wildlands fire takes cooperation between local,state and federal agencies, but while the crews from across the state answer the call for assistance it is the local volunteers who set the first line of defense for stopping the loss of homes, livestock and human life. They are the first on the scene when fires erupt, they are the ones anchoring the fire hoses and hiking through heavily timbered and rugged mountain terrain before other agencies arrive.

One of several Wildland Firefighter Crews that came to assist fighting the "Nash Fire" was a six-man crew from the Tallahassee Fire District near Canon City: Mike Otega, Janet Gardner, Fred Arnold, Scott Elliott, Jason Goudy and 20-year veteran Wildland firefighter, crew chief Todd Abbott.

I asked Tallahasse Wildland crew member, Mike Ortega how long he had been a wildlands firefigher.

"I've only been a member for a year." he said and then he added, "This is my first fire!"

Janet Gardner who was a volunteer firefighter for six years before joining the Wildlands Crew said she was also a Wildlands fire rookie.

Four Mile has a rookie member as well and is he one of the three youngest members with the volunteer fire department, Tom Hatton Jr. Tom joined Four Mile Fire Protection District a few months ago and trained for wildland fires. Since joining he has had a baptism in firefighting having fought seven wildland fires in the Four Mile area and near his own home on The Hatton Ranch. Tom worked the fire lines during the early hours of the "Nash Fire " along with other members of The Four Mile Firefighters.

The owner of The Bloody Nuckle Auto Shop at Evergreen Station, Travis Taylor, is also a volunteer with Four Mile Fire Protection District, and this time, while he did not fight this fire, he had a very personal stake in its outcome. Travis along with Lance Crummett, Fire Chief for The Four Mile Fire Protection District, and their families were among the more than 100 homeowners evacuated from Bear Trap Ranch.

As communications personnel converged on the "Nash Fire," followed by news media vans with their huge dish transmitters, reporters interviewing the displaced homeowners and tourists who tried to get a view of the fire, the air seemed to vibrate with tension.

The whirring rush of sound as heliocopters landed at the helipad set up on the Hatton Ranch Pasture and a tent city of domed red tents took the place of the pastoral scene of Black Angus cattle that usually adorned the hills.

Finally, with a little help from the weather and the hard work of the firefighters, by late Sunday afternoon the fire was pronounced 100-percent contained. Families returned home to put their lives back in order and soon our pastures will again stand ready to welcome back the Black Angus Cattle that graze there.

The men and women who fought this fire will not be forgotten, they are "The Four Mile Fire District Volunteers," the mechanic at Evergreen Station, the rancher down the road, volunteers from the next county, the state and federal fire crews, wildland crews from another state, ground support crews and The Salvation Army Cantina.

Yes, when it is all said and done and you look around you will see standing next to you the neighbors, family and friends who left their jobs and took up the mantle of "The Volunteer Firefighter." Our Thanks go out to them for standing in harm's way for those of us who can only watch from a distance.

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donna hatton

woodland park , CO

donna hatton has posted 15 stories and 0 comments since joining on 2/11/2008. donna hatton 's average story rating is 5.

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