From The Chief
Welcome to the Boulder Rural Fire Protection District web site and thank you for taking the opportunity to learn more about our department and the many services we provide our members and our customers. Here at Boulder Rural we fully realize and appreciate that our greatest priority is to the individuals and families that live in our District. Our most important assets are the men and women that make up our membership of career, volunteer, and part-time specialists, who together represent our Combination Fire Department. As the Fire Chief, my most important priority is their safety, fitness, wellness and training.
We are very well supported by a Board of Directors that allows us to conduct the operations of the District while assuring responsible fiscal management of our customers' tax dollars. Together we create one of the most progressive and professional Fire-ALS/EMS-Rescue Departments in the State of Colorado. We were very fortunate to recently receive an increase in funding from our taxpayers.
This year we are celebrating our 50th Anniversary in providing service to our customers in unincorporated Boulder County. Our department has made significant growth from a small single engine all-volunteer department to a mid-sized combination department with multiple apparatus and facilities. We will always remember and be grateful to our founding members in 1957 for their hard work and dedication to helping their rural neighbors in a time of their need.
Our department consists of 13 full time career, 27 volunteer members, and 9 specialists. We now operate a paramedic engine company staffed with a minimum of three members 24-hours a day seven day a week. We currently respond to 800 EMS, fire, HazMat, and motor vehicle accident calls per year and serve our 17,000 customers within 25 miles in unincorporated Boulder County west, north, and east of the City of Boulder. Our response area includes urban wildland interface, ranches, open space, and suburban areas, all served from two fire stations We are able to provide an ISO rating of 'five' to the 25 square miles that we protect.
This year we will enter into a Joint Response Agreement with the Mt. View Fire Protection District. This will incorporate portions of both districts in an area west of 95th Street to Highway 36, and between the city limits of Boulder and Longmont with a joint response from both departments consisting of an ALS Engine and an ALS Ambulance on all calls. Our goal is to provide high quality, consistent and expeditious service through fire-based EMS utilizing resources from both agencies.
We work very closely with the Boulder Fire Department, Boulder Mountain FPD, Longmont Fire Department, Mt. View FPD, Rocky Mountain Fire District, and the Sunshine FPD through Automatic Mutual Aid Agreements in an effort to exceed the NFPA 1710 Standard for the response to structure fire alarms. We are about to engage in a Fire Protection Evaluation and Feasibility Study with Emergency Services Consulting, Inc. with several of these department to look into additional resource sharing opportunities. We pride ourselves on being progressive and professional in our approach to providing the best possible service to all of our customers in the most effective and efficient manner.
Our Training Division produces over 3,000 hours of all-risk training annually to our members. Training topics include structure firefighting, wildland firefighting, ALS and BLS EMS specialized rescue, and HazMat subjects. We are blessed to have many members who are highly trained as Paramedics, HazMat Technicians, arson investigations and nationally certified structure and wildland firefighters.
As part of our Fitness and Wellness Program, every member receives an annual physical exam meeting the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1582. Additionally all members must successfully complete a certified Physical Abilities Test annually. We also offer our members an intensive cardio-vascular stress evaluation program all under the direction of our Medical Records Officer.
Our web site offers you many opportunities to learn more about our Combination Department and the services we provide our customers. You can also learn more about our annual open house, spaghetti dinner, car seat installation services, and other happenings. We are constantly looking for individuals with special talents in grant writing, computer administration, and other special talents that would like to contribute their services to our department. Please don't hesitate to contact us in person by dropping by Station One or calling 303-530-9575 for additional information or if you have any questions.
Many thanks for your interest in our department! We look forward to talking with you in person or serving you in the near future. Have a nice fire-safe day!
Bruce Mygatt
Bruce.Mygatt@BRFD.org