Like most of Falcon’s volunteer firefighters, Lance Stillwaugh has a full-time job working 40 to 60 hours a week. He also is married, with two young children and a menagerie of pets that include horses, chickens, dogs, fish, hermit crabs and a rat. With such a loaded schedule, what drives Stillwaugh to volunteer 25-plus hours in response to accidents and medical and fire emergencies? A very personal experience.Stillwaugh’s initial reason for becoming a firefighter goes back to 1990, when he was a college student at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo. At the time, he was engaged, and he would often go home to see his fiancÈ. On one particular visit, he entered her home and found her in the middle of a Grand Mal seizure. She had quit breathing, and Stillwaugh didn’t know CPR or first aid. By the time the ambulance arrived, it was too late to save her.Stillwaugh vowed that he would never again feel helpless in a medical emergency. He took a leave of absence from Fort Lewis College to get a certificate in emergency medical training at Pikes Peak College in Colorado Springs. After returning to school in Durango, Stillwaugh joined the Las Animas Fire Protection District, where he volunteered until he graduated in 1993.Eventually, he returned to the Springs, where he met his wife Kristina – it was a blind date. “We both love country music and dancing, so friends set us up to meet at ‘Cowboys,'” Stillwaugh said. It went well.They married in 2001 and moved to Falcon. In 2002, he joined the Falcon Fire Protection District.Besides his regular duties, Stillwaugh is president of the Falcon Fire Volunteers Business Organization. “We are separate from the fire department, and our purpose is to generate funds to support training and community events,” he said. The annual Easter pancake breakfast is one event the organization sponsors. Part of the proceeds from the event this year was used to purchase an electronic wheelchair for a child in Falcon, he said.Stillwaugh also volunteers for home inspections. “We’ll come out to your home at no charge and do an interior inspection and a fire mitigation plan,” he said.Because the department has just five full-time paid firefighters, volunteers are a major part of the team, he said.Physical requirements and training are the same for paid and volunteer firefighters.”Volunteers are critical to the protection of Falcon residents,” Stillwaugh said. “It’s a great way to give back to the community and help people when they need it the most. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities at the station. Just stop by and ask.”The Falcon Fire Volunteers Business Organization is sponsoring HeartSaver CPR Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Falcon Fire Protection District Station 1. To find out more about the training and enroll, call 495-4050.
