Latest news with #SouthMetroFireRescue


CBS News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Multiple agencies in south Denver metro area responding to fast moving wildfire near Sedalia
Fire crews and deputies are responding to what they called a "fast-moving wildfire" located just south of the Denver Metro Area. According to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, the fire broke out in the area near 2903 Bears Den Drive, which lies approximately three miles southwest of Sedalia. The sheriff's office released a statement around 8:30 p.m. that its deputies are working with South Metro Fire Rescue, Castle Rock Fire Department and West Douglas Fire Protection to bring the fire under control. They said that crews are currently "working on structure protection with heavy fire in brush and shrub oak."


CBS News
19-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
One of Colorado's biggest fire departments forecasts $500 million shortfall over next decade: "It's a big amount"
South Metro Fire Rescue, which serves nearly 600,000 residents in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties, is forecasting a $20 to $30 million shortfall in 2026, followed by yearly budget shortfalls of $50 million a year for the next decade. The fire protection district says state property tax relief measures are forcing them to consider seeking tax increases or reductions in service. "It's a big amount," said Jim Albee, chairman of the board that oversees the nearly 800 member fire department. "Every dollar counts," said Albee who added, "we are going to evaluate every dollar." Albee and the department say their shortfalls are brought about by years of rising costs, inflation, increasing calls for service and new state legislation that reduces property taxes and caps property tax rates. The department derives 80% of its revenue from property taxes, according to Albee. But with 80% of the department's budget going to employee salaries and benefits, the department will likely reflect on its most recent contract, providing firefighters with a 10% salary increase this year, followed by increases the next two years that will bring the three-year salary increases to between 17.5% and 19%. By comparison, the Denver Fire Department agreed in May to a tentative two year contract with the city calling for a 5% increase next year and another 5% increase the following year. Albee said the larger salary increases are to make up for the previous contract, which granted 8% salary increases over three years. To address the looming budget shortfalls, SMFR is considering three scenarios: - Asking district residents to vote to increase their property taxes, something Albee says has not happened in 20 years - Seeking a .5% sales tax within the district which would generate an estimated $50 million for South Metro each year - Cutting services, which might lead to higher response times "We will look at everything," said Albee. He said preliminary surveys conducted by the department have so far indicated district residents are most in favor of the new sales tax, rather than voting to increase their property taxes or see fire service diminished with increased response times. The department has been widely known in the fire service as being "best in class," offering equal or higher salaries than other similar sized departments, and health and wellness benefits that are top tier. SMFR has on staff three strength and conditioning coaches, with the lead strength and conditioning coach earning $111,000 annually. Also on staff are: A chief of human performance who earns $239,000 An athletic trainer who makes $104,000 An e-learning specialist who also makes $104,000 There's also a cognitive performance coach, a health and wellness officer, a physical therapist and a wellness doctor who is paid $250,000 per year. Albee said he considers it "a duty of this department to make sure the people are taken care of as well as possible and we're taking care of first responders as well as they're taking care of us. It's what the market informs us is what's needed and necessary to attract and retain the talent we need to serve our community," said Albee. The South Metro board chairman said overall, these positions essentially are "cost neutral" as they pay for themselves by helping prevent injuries that would equate to lost time, or by helping rehabilitate injured firefighters and get them back to work faster than would otherwise be possible. But cutting benefits is on the table, said Albee, who said all expenses are being evaluated. He said by early August the department will begin making decisions about what direction -- or directions -- it needs to go to address its budget problems.


CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
Firefighter hurt in Idaho ambush taken to Colorado for medical treatment, is greeted with applause
A 47-year-old Idaho firefighter hurt in a violent attack last month has been taken to Colorado for medical treatment. A video posted on social media Tuesday by South Metro Fire Rescue shows engineer David Tysdal being welcomed at Centennial Airport in the southern part of the Denver metro area. A line of firefighters clapped and cheered for him as he was taken off his plane and taken by ambulance to the medical center where he will receive further treatment. Tysdal was shot and injured in late June when he and a group of other firefighters in the Coeur d'Alene area were ambushed by a man with a shotgun at a place called Canfield Mountain. The group had been called to the area on a report of a fire that was allegedly set by the gunman. Two other firefighters died in the June 29 attack. The suspect was also found dead after an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities are looking into what possible motives of the shooter might have had. Battalion Chief John Morrison and Battalion Chief Frank Harwood were the other firefighters who were the victims in the attack. In a fundraiser website for Tysdal, a message states that he "faces a long and challenging rehabilitation ahead." He was injured by a single gunshot that hit him in the back. He suffered from a collapsed lung, damaged clavicle, shattered ribs and spinal swelling that made him unable to move his legs. In a message posted a week ago on the International Association of Fire Fighters 7th District social media page, fellow firefighters wrote "his spinal cord is communicating from the top to the bottom and we are hopeful movement will return when the swelling subsides."


CBS News
15-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Five-acre brush fire breaks out near site of previous vegetation fires that forced evacuation of Colorado town
A brush fire was reported Tuesday afternoon in Douglas County, just a few miles from fires that broke out Sunday that forced the evacuations of the Colorado town of Louviers. Tuesday's fire was first reported by South Metro Fire Rescue around 2:30 p.m. near 6005 Ron King Trail, in open space east of Highway 85 and south of Littleton. The fire was approximately 5 acres as of around 3 p.m. was moving to the southwest "at a moderate rate of spread in heavy timber, brush and shrub oak," according to South Metro Fire Rescue, which went on to say that no structures were threatened. Just before 3:30 p.m., the department said that an incoming storm is "becoming a concern for crews in the area. The head of the fire has been knocked, crews are still working on fire in the interior perimeter." Crews were working to extinguish the fire from the ground as a helicopter dropped water on the fire from the air. The are of the fire is about 3 miles away from the Airport Fires, previously referred to as the Titan Court Fires, that sparked on Sunday and forced the evacuation of the small and nearby town of Louviers.


CBS News
15-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Colorado officials investigate cause of Louviers fire, thank county helitack team
Colorado officials are thanking firefighters for their quick action after multiple fires threatened nearby homes. First responders in Douglas County say the series of small brush fires that burned 130 acres near Louviers could have been much worse. The fire came just feet from homes, 39 houses in Louviers had to be evacuated. But thanks to the quick work of first responders, no structures were lost. Neighbors returned to their homes Sunday night. The fire is being called the Airport Fire due to its proximity to Airport Road in Louviers. Its cause is under investigation. As of Monday, it was 90% contained. Fire crews are not out of the woods yet. They worked hard on Monday to hold containment at 90% and mop up hotspots amid high winds and high temperatures. South Metro Fire Rescue estimates the fire will be at 100% containment in the next few days. "I was concerned over the smoke, so I drove over here as fast as I could," said Philip George. George is a nearby resident and insurance agent with clients in the area. He arrived on the scene Sunday to find a line of spot fires west of Highway 85, from Chatfield to Louviers. "It was the oddest thing I'd ever seen because it was just some little spot fires, and I thought, 'Wow, maybe someone did that intentionally.' But when I got closer, I saw it was right along the railroad, so I thought maybe one of the wheels on a rail car was throwing sparks," George said. South Metro Fire says the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but confirmed there were multiple fires along the railroad and a train in the area. BNSF Railway said fires along their rail line are rare and that they take steps to prevent them, including conducting risk assessments and clearing brush. They say they are cooperating with local agencies to investigate the cause of this fire. On Monday, the BNSF fire train worked to extinguish hotspots along the rail line. "Driving through here today and looking at the aftermath, I mean it's right next to that house, so that had to be very scary for those folks," George said. Whatever the cause, quick work by first responders stopped the fire before it reached any homes. "It was really impressive how quickly they got it out," George said. Officials said Douglas County's helitack team dropped 88 tankloads of water on the fire Sunday. While they got help from a Forest Service helicopter, they said state resources were busy fighting fires elsewhere in Colorado. "We did place orders for both federal and state hand crews, to which they were both unavailable due to other fires occurring in Colorado," said South Metro Fire Chief John Curtis. "Had we not had that fire helitack team in the air within 10 minutes, this fire would have been much worse than it was," said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly. Douglas County says it invests more in fire protection than any other county in the state and is calling on neighboring counties to follow suit. "How we do not have a helicopter on standby and ready to go in the Denver metro area is beyond me," Weekly said. "We have been advocating with metro area commissioners that every county needs to have year-round helitack support. We are the only county that has year-round helitack support," said Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon. "By the time I was driving out here from only maybe five minutes away, that helicopter was in the air dumping water on the fire. So I don't know whose idea that was, I don't know whose tax dollars are paying for that, but that helicopter, I've seen it maybe four or five times since I've lived down here, save a lot of homes because it is on the fires every time," George said. Neighbors in Louviers told CBS Colorado they want more fire mitigation work done in the area. South Metro officials said that kind of mitigation is difficult in the riparian area. "That area is considered riparian area, which is a sensitive ecosystem set aside for large mammal migration. It's also relatively low fire risk, so no fire mitigation has been done in the area. In the case of this fire, it offered a buffer, preventing the fire from spreading more quickly," a spokesperson for Douglas County said in a statement. "We can't mitigate on private property. We have mitigated for wildfires on our open spaces in Louviers." Douglas County is offering a 50% match to homeowners for the cost of fire mitigation on their property. Applications for that cost-sharing program opened Monday and will close on Aug. 14. See the full statement from BNSF below: "Fires along our rail line are infrequent, but we work hard to try and prevent them. In the rare event one does occur, we assist municipalities in suppression efforts and help the communities that are affected. BNSF conducts thorough risk assessments that consider factors such as vegetation type, rainfall, relative humidity, temperature, wind speed/direction, time-of-day of work activities, and type and extent of work activities. We clear brush, cease hot work activities during periods of high winds or unpredictable gusting winds, use spark shields, pre-wet the work environment when needed, and designate fire watchers to be able to react quickly in the event of a fire. We also have tank cars full of water pre-staged in areas prone to fire conditions. We also have specially equipped firefighting trains. BNSF works closely with local fire agencies, and during fire season, these trains not only help fight fires regardless of the cause, but also transport firefighters into remote areas and serve as a mobile command center for first responders. One of our fire trains is currently being used by the local fire department in Douglas County. We are cooperating with local agencies to investigate the cause of the fire." Kendall Sloan