Board places fire chief on paid leave

In a nine-minute special meeting, in front of a crowded room with more than two dozen people present, the Estes Valley Fire Protection Board unanimously voted to place Chief Paul Capo on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation related to a personnel matter. 

The Board then voted unanimously to name Jason Dillingham as interim operations chief and Stacy Sutherland as interim chief of non-operational duties.

Dillingham is new to the department, having been hired in May as the division chief of operations and training, a position held by Capo before he was hired as the chief last fall. Dillingham came to Estes Park after retiring from the Champaign Fire Department in Illinois, where he had been for 23 years. He had most recently served as a battalion chief.

Sutherland, a fire code inspector, lieutenant, firefighter, and emergency medical technician, joined the department in 2022. She is working toward certification to become a fire marshal. 

In a written statement released after the meeting EVFPD Board President Sandra E. Smith wrote “while the District can not discuss ongoing personnel matters, it is taking appropriate action to ensure its employees and volunteers can safely and effectively perform their duties and responsibilities on behalf of the community.”

During the meeting, Smith stressed that this is a temporary situation and that the Board is not looking to hire a new chief at this time. Smith also told the attendees that the Board would not take public comment during today’s meeting. Another regularly scheduled board meeting is set for June 30 at 4:30 p.m. at the Dannels Fire Station, when public comment will be heard. 

The board also voted unanimously to amend the organization’s bylaws to conform with the state’s open meeting law and allow the Board to call a special meeting with 24 hours’ notice and post the agenda on the District’s website. The amendment is retroactive to January 1, 2025. 

The issue of placing the chief on paid administrative leave was not on the agenda of a regularly scheduled public board meeting held on June 16. However, the EVFPD Board did go into executive session at that meeting to discuss two items on the agenda. 

The first was “for the purpose of receiving legal advice concerning complaints alleging discrimination and harassment.” The other was “for the purpose of receiving legal advice related to outsourcing the District’s Human Resources needs and the risks and benefits related to such action.”