History
The Foothills Fire Protection District was created January 1, 1997. Three independent Fire Protection Districts joined together to form a new district. Read the entire Consolidation Order.
The Mount Vernon Fire Protection District was formed in 1950. It held an ISO 5 Rating. The Mount Vernon community constructed its own public water system to provide domestic water and water for firefighting. Twenty-six fire hydrants were strategically placed within the bounds of the Mount Vernon community.
The Idledale Fire District was formed in 1948. The district originally consisted of an area from the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon near the town of Morrison West nearly to Kittridge on both sides of the Bear Creek drainage extending northward to Highway 40 and west to the El Rancho area. At the time the Genesee development was proposed, an exclusion of that area took place. This created the new Genesee Fire District and left the remaining Idledale District divided. From the firehouse in Idledale, the district curved to the north and the west all the way to El Rancho. To service the north end of the district, a satellite station was placed on the north end of Grapevine Road. This provided fire protection for Riva Chase, Cold Springs Ranch, and the Genesee Park area.
The Lookout Mountain Fire District was formed in 1962. The land for the Lookout Mountain Station was obtained and a station was built in 1963 with volunteer labor. A second station was built in 1973 near the Rainbow Hills area on property obtained from the State Highway Department. The property will revert back to the State if it is no longer used for fire protection purposes. In 1984, the Lookout Mountain Fire District entered into a 40-year lease with the Alpine Rescue Team. Alpine built a new station on this property to house trucks and equipment as well as meeting facilities and an office. In 1995, the far western portion of the district west of Rainbow Hills was excluded and placed in the Evergreen District at the request of the residents of that area.
Organization
The Foothills Fire Protection District is governed by a board of five members. They operate under Colorado Revised Statutes Title 32. The Board of Directors have adopted the Rules and Regulations of the Foothills Fire Protection District and the International Fire Code 2000. The Board also has established and reviews and accepts changes to the Operational guidelines, as well as its Long Range Plan, for its Operational Foothills Fire & Rescue. Each member is elected for a four-year term and vacancies are filled by the Board until the next scheduled election that occurs every two years. The Board selects a president, vice president, secretary and treasurer from the members. The Department elects officers from its members annually according to the Volunteer By-Laws and the Operational Guidelines. The district has paid employees for the management and implementation of its authority.
Emergency Medical Services
Foothills Fire & Rescue delivers its emergency medical transport services through cooperation with the Highland Rescue Team Ambulance District for the entire District. All medical actions conducted by District personnel are done under the auspices of a physician advisor.
The Wildfire Committee
This committee operates under the District Board of Directors. It supports the Board and Department as a citizen group to develop and maintain a community information system concerning rural wildfire hazards, early warning system, evacuation plan, long range water planning, road improvement and all other aspects of fire prevention and community safety. This group consists of several standing committees with chairmen elected annually by members.
Read the latest version of the FFPD Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
Response Time
Good weather response time by the district personnel to an emergency ranges from 2 to 10 minutes. Generally, members are required to respond to a station to pick up equipment. In some cases, an officer may respond directly to scene in his or her personal vehicle. This provides minimum response time to size up the incident, as well as minimum response time for necessary equipment. Response times are slowed during inclement weather. Many areas of the District are accessible only by using narrow, winding, steep private gravel and dirt roads and paths. Other areas have no roads and are extremely rugged. Because of these conditions, the 4-wheel-drive capabilities of the smaller Foothills Fire & Rescue units are frequently needed for back country access.