Terry Stokka has lived in Black Forest for 29 years. He is president of the Friends of Black Forest, chairman of the Black Forest Land Use Committee and chairman of the Black Forest Water & Wells Committee.
Disclaimer: This column does not necessarily represent the views of The New Falcon Herald.
Meet the Black Forest Fire Department
By Terry Stokka
The celebration of 50 years for the Falcon Fire Department made me think about our own fire department here in Black Forest. We seldom think about our fire departments except when we hear the sirens or our house is on fire, but those firefighters are on duty 24 hours a day, waiting for the call to give aid to a vehicle accident or fire. Let’s take a trip into the fire station and get to know our fire department.
As recently as 1955, Black Forest had no fire truck. The forest service donated a small trailer that had a pump on it. When the siren sounded, volunteers with pickups would head for the fire station. The first person with a ball hitch would hook up the trailer. The rest of them would back up to the dock and load barrels of water on their pickups and head for the fire. At the fire, a bucket brigade was often required to put water on the fire. Not exactly fire science, but many homes and trees were saved that way.
A fund drive was later initiated as ladies went door to door asking for a dollar donation to buy a real fire truck. The ensuing Seagraves fire truck was the pride and joy of Black Forest. The truck had limitations such as no heater; however, if a fire call happened in the winter way up north, the hoses often froze before they got to the scene of the fire. Still, it was an improvement. Jack Greer and his wife, Joyce, both EMTs, even outfitted their 1958 DeSoto station wagon to turn it into an ambulance.
The next improvement was the fire phone. Guy and Lulu Freeland owned the Black Forest store and lived in the rear of the store so there was always someone to answer the phone. A fire call was relayed via a phone tree to the volunteers and away they went. While the volunteers took off to fight the fire, the ladies made sandwiches and coffee to bring to the fire. Later, when the Munsons purchased the store, Paul would head out for a fire or Dorothy would take off for a medical emergency since she was an EMT. On one fire, the volunteers headed east on Burgess instead of west, so the ladies with the sandwiches arrived at the fire the same time as the firefighters.
The first big improvement was the fire station at Shoup and Black Forest roads, built in 1976 that served the community for many years. The department outgrew that building and in 2003, a new, modern station was built at Burgess and Teachout that is the envy of firefighters in the area. In 2009, a smaller station was built at Hodgen and Black Forest roads to serve the northern part of the area. Both stations are manned 24 hours a day. The department has 40 full-time firefighters and six wildland firefighters. The main station also has paramedics manning the ambulance. By comparison, Falcon has five stations and Monument has five stations.
The department is not as busy as a city department. They average 47 medical calls and two actual fires per month plus several miscellaneous calls. Many calls involve mutual aid, which is backing up Monument or Falcon on a fire in their districts.
Years ago, Black Forest Fire had only two paid positions, the fire chief and the paramedic. All the rest were volunteers. With the increased training requirements and responsibilities, it became necessary to have paid positions for firefighters so there are no volunteer firefighters today. Because BFF is a smaller department, they are unable to pay as much as the other departments so they wrestle with the problem of retaining qualified people.
Recently, BFF was at a crossroads with the departure of the fire chief, deputy and training officer. The board hired a consultant to evaluate the department and make recommendations. Three options were presented. One option was to hire for the three vacant executive positions and continue as an independent fire district. A second option was to contract out some positions while still maintaining the existing board. The third option was for BFF to merge with another fire department. Options two and three were not possible because Monument was in the middle of a merger with Westcott, and Falcon was in the middle of their own changes. The board is now looking to hire a new chief and continue as an independent fire district. The deputy chief and training officer positions will be filled internally.
The science of firefighting involves much more than squirting water on a fire, so training is constant in the fire station. The complex nature of fires and medical emergencies makes it necessary for firefighters to be experts in evaluating a fire and knowing how to fight it. Medical emergencies have also become more complicated. We should be thankful that our fire department works diligently to keep firefighters and paramedics proficient. They are a welcome sight in a fire or medical emergency.
