There is a new chief in town. On Monday, Kevin Nunn stepped into the role as the Estes Valley Fire Protection District’s new chief. He will be officially sworn in at a formal ceremony on Monday, July 27, at 3:30 p.m. at the Dannels Fire Station. The public is welcome to attend.
Nunn, Warren Jones, who has been the interim chief since October, sat down Tuesday morning with the Estes Valley Voice to talk about the transition. Jones will work with Nunn this week to make introductions before stepping back and handing over the reins of the EVFPD.
As chief, Nunn says he wants an open-door policy with firefighters and the community that fosters transparency and accountability. He says one way to do that is to “keep the bay doors open so that people can walk in and ask whatever they want to ask.”
He knows that he is jumping into a heavy lift right off the bat if the fire district board votes on Monday to move forward with asking the voters to approve a .5% sales tax in November. That vote is expected to take place on Monday at a board meeting following Nunn’s swearing-in ceremony.
The EVFPD must figure out how to become financially independent from the Town of Estes Park, which currently provides the special district with $1.35 million from local sales tax. The Town is preparing to redirect those funds to build a new public safety center, which is estimated to cost more than $30 million.
Recent polling by the Welchert Company, an election consulting firm hired to gauge community support for a dedicated local fire district sales tax, indicated strong public support for the proposal, according to Steve Welchert.
The survey found that approximately 82 percent of likely voters would support a one-half cent sales tax to fund the district.
Nunn is a veteran firefighter and chief who is moving to Colorado from Utah, where he led the North Tooele Fire District since 2022 after being selected through a nationwide search. He relocated from Tennessee to assume the chief’s position.
His fire service career began in 1990 as a volunteer firefighter at age 21. Over the years, he served with volunteer departments in Indiana and Colorado and spent five years in wildland firefighting before joining the career fire service in 2002.
Nunn’s Colorado experience includes work with Larimer County Emergency Services beginning in 2001. He later served with the City of Pigeon Forge Fire Department and the Seymour Volunteer Fire Department in Tennessee, where he held a variety of firefighting, training, leadership and emergency management roles.
Before becoming chief in Utah, Nunn worked as an emergency management specialist at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.
He earned a master’s degree in emergency management from Eastern Kentucky University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering technology from Purdue University.