The Falcon Fire Protection District held its regular board meeting June 17. All board members were present, along with attorney Richard Shearer, legal counsel for the district.Treasurerís reportFire Chief Trent Harwig reported that, as of May 31, the fiscal year is 42 percent complete. Fifty-eight percent of anticipated revenue has been received. Total general fund expenditures are at 35 percent.Proximity lightning strikes caused some minor damage to electrical systems and computer networks at both Stations 1 and 3. Board members discussed improving surge protection at the stations, and Harwig said he will investigate options.Incident statisticsThe district received 154 calls for service in May, bringing the total for the year to 819 alarms.Reserve training programHarwig said the FFPD has received about 60 applications for the upcoming reserve firefighter academy, which is scheduled to begin mid-July. Many of the applications were received via a grant-funded state program to increase the number of volunteer firefighters statewide. ìWeíre trying to take advantage of the stateís recruitment program,î Harwig said. His goal is to have 20 new reservists by the end of the year to augment paid staff.Many reservists who completed FFPD lateral academies in recent years are no longer with the department, Harwig said. Since lateral academy participants must hold current firefighting and EMS certifications, which can entail hundreds of hours of training, many use their qualifications to move on to paid jobs. Harwig likened the effect to a ìrevolving doorî that has depleted reservist ranks.He said one component of the reserve academy will be an online interactive training program. Students will participate in weekly online classes and complete quizzes and tests. Training time at the stations will focus on hands-on tasks. Harwig said the district has subscribed to the online program only for this group of reservist trainees, but will evaluate it as a potential training tool for all department members.Station 4Harwig has researched flood plain data as well as utility availability and installation for several potential sites for Station 4. He is currently waiting to hear back from a commercial developer after submitting comments for a proposed site near Constitution Avenue and Marksheffel Road.Black Forest Reserve cisternCistern installation was rescheduled from June 18 to June 25 because of weather delays.Meridian and Highway 24 redesignHarwig will meet with design engineers for the county the week of July 6 to discuss the preliminary design and emergency access for the Meridian and Highway 24 project.Mutual/automatic-aid agreement with cityThe current mutual/automatic aid agreement with Colorado Springs Fire Department, which was established in 2010 and ends this year, has been updated and renewed. Harwig said the agreement is almost the same as before but with some improvements. CSFD will respond along with Falcon fire department units on the first alarm to all reported structure fires in District 4. Because CSFD stations 17 and 21 are within 5 road miles of District 4 addresses, those residents qualify for the FFPD ISO ratings.
