Earlier this week, I had the honor of participating in the change-of-command and swearing-in ceremony for our new fire chief, Kevin Nunn. This fire service tradition recognizes the transition of leadership from one chief to another. It preserves the continuity of command and demonstrates the new chief’s commitment to leading the organization.
I’ve worked closely with Chief Nunn over the last two weeks and found him to be extraordinarily well prepared to lead our district. He has superior technical, administrative, and communication skills, and his experience is closely aligned with the needs of our district and the Estes Valley community. My observations confirm the wisdom of our search committee and Board of Directors in their choice of Chief Nunn as our new fire chief.
In his address to our members and community, Chief Nunn stressed the importance of hope as the bedrock of our service to the community. Hope that when we’re called, we’ll arrive and make the situation better.
In my over 50 years in the fire service, I’ve found this to be true and it is the essence of our commitment to the citizens we serve. I’m proud that Chief Nunn will be continuing the service of all the fire chiefs who have preceded him.
In my relatively short time as your interim fire chief, I’ve learned that the heart of our organization is our members. Right now, we have 35 volunteer firefighters, nine auxiliary members, and five board members who are dedicated to serving the citizens and visitors in our community.
Together, they contribute thousands of hours of service every year. Our volunteers will respond to over 1,000 calls for service this year, and some will respond to over 600 calls, contributing well over 1,000 individual hours of service for emergency response, training, maintenance, and community events.
We have a state-of-the-art fleet of structure-fire, wildfire, and rescue vehicles, as well as a well-equipped training center. In addition to a highly effective response capability, our volunteers provide great value to our community by saving tax money. If we were to provide the same level of service with a fully paid staff, it would cost the community $12 million more.
Our volunteers are supported by a paid staff of ten. Five of these personnel provide direct fire prevention and wildfire risk reduction services. The other five provide management, training, and administrative services.
In my June column, I described two pivotal moments facing the district. The first was the selection of a new fire chief. This is complete. The second is future funding.
Our Board of Directors has begun the process of asking the district’s voters to allow us to assess a sales tax, as permitted by the state in 2024. If our board takes the final steps in late August, we will ask our voters to approve a half-cent sales tax across the district to fund future district services.
If approved, this would fund enhanced wildfire risk reduction and response, increased support for our volunteer firefighters, and the establishment of a long-term apparatus and equipment fund. It would also allow us to become financially independent from the Town of Estes Park. In the coming months, there will be a lot of information available on this project.
My time here is done. It’s been a wonderful experience, and I’m grateful to our Board of Directors, paid staff, and volunteers for the opportunity to serve the district and community.
My wife and I will be returning to our home in Glacier View Meadows, just north of here on the north side of the Pouder River. We’ll be thinking about where we’ll locate for our real retirement, and yes, Estes Park is on our list.