Galicia recognizedBattalion Chief Cory Galicia has received the prestigious William A. Spurgeon award from the Boy Scouts of America. Galicia was recognized for his outstanding work with the Falcon Fire Departmentís Explorerís program. Jeff Horner of the Boy Scouts of America presented the award.Town hall meeting June 7The Falcon Fire Protection District Board of Directors is hosting a town hall meeting at Station 3, 7030 Old Meridian Road Tuesday, June 7 at 7:30 p.m., immediately following the Falcon Senior Service organizationís public meeting, which will be held at the same location.The Falcon Fire District Board is looking for input from Falcon residents concerning future budget options. The FFPD is evaluating which services to cut or eliminate beginning next year in an effort to balance the budget. Budget cuts are necessary because of this yearís drop in property values and the lack of new revenues generated by local growth.The El Paso County Assessorís office has given notice to the FFPD that they should plan for a 12-20 percent reduction in property tax revenue going into 2012 ñ an estimated $275,000 to $350,000 reduction from the already reduced budget numbers in 2011.ìItís really important that people attend this town hall meeting,î said Chief Trent Harwig. ìThis will have an impact on everyone in the fire district. The board needs to hear what the people want and expect for their fire department.îThe big red trucksWhen the Big Red Truck pulls up in front of your house, you know help has arrived. Itís what the public has come to expect and rely on, but for the taxpayers of the Falcon Fire Protection District that Big Red Truck results in one expensive house call.The Falcon Fire District has had to cut almost every category line in their 2011 budget to maintain its current level of service and balance a tight budget. A stall in local growth brought on by the lingering economic conditions resulted in a zero revenue increase from 2010 to 2011. With utility costs, insurance premiums, health benefits and fuel prices going up, the district had to find items to cut that they had more control over. The FFPD looked at maintenance categories, training programs, the equipment replacement plan and response policies and procedures, to name a few. One of those cost-cutting measures was taking the fire engines off the streets and leaving them in the bays as often as possible. ìThis is no new concept to the Falcon Fire Department, but one that is being strictly enforced by the on-shift battalion chiefs who have closer oversight,î said Chief Trent Harwig. ìWith 75 percent of the total alarms being requests for medical response, and the average staffing at each of the two full-time stations being four firefighters per shift, the most efficient utilization of resources is to respond with the smallest vehicle in the fleet and the lowest number of firefighters required to handle each situation.îBattalion Chief Cory Galicia agreed, ìResponding only to fires, traffic accidents and hazardous material incidents with the big trucks just makes sense.îThe engines get about 6 miles per gallon; the smaller quick-response vehicles average 13-15 miles per gallon. ìWith todayís fuel prices and running an average of 150 calls each month, you can see how this can really add up,î Harwig said. ìAdditional savings are added when you consider that the QRVs run on unleaded fuel, as compared to the higher cost diesel fuel required in the engines.îLong-term savings is also related to maintenance costs and fleet replacement costs. ìWith a standard engine cost at $350,000 compared to $30,000 for QRVs, you can see how extending the life of the fire engines really adds up,î Harwig said. ìI understand the citizens expect to see a fire engine arrive when they call 911. Itís just a matter of economics. We believe you will start to see more fire agencies doing the same in the near future.î
