The opening of Falcon Fire Protection District Fire Station 4 May 13 represents one more step in the ongoing process of keeping up with growth in unincorporated El Paso County.Since its inception as the Falcon Volunteer Fire Department in 1975, FFPD has grown from a single firehouse to three staffed and two unstaffed stations. It once served a largely rural population but now provides emergency services to residential and commercial properties in urbanized, semi-rural and rural areas. Growth and development drive FFPD to continuously expand operations so that its residents receive the most effective and efficient service possible.However, funding doesnít always keep up with growth, and Station 4 was a long time coming. During the May FFPD board meeting, Fire Chief Trent Harwig said, ìStation 4 should have been built years ago, but district residents voted down two bond proposals. Many voters expressed the opinion that the cost of a new station should be borne by the developers and residents who created the need for that station.îThe size and reach of Falconís fire district often surprises people. Although the Falcon community was originally centered in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 24 and Meridian Road, the fire district covers 113 square miles, including properties along Constitution Avenue and Marksheffel Road. At one time, the Banning Lewis Ranch was part of FFPDís jurisdiction. The cityís annexation of the ranch, situated between U.S. Highway 24 and Marksheffel Road, fragmented the southern part of the fire district but left a handful of areas that still required FFPDís services.This area, known in the FFPD as Response Zone 4 or District 4, has posed challenges in terms of emergency response. It encompasses a combination of single-family and multi-family homes, commercial properties and industrial operations, as well as two high-volume thoroughfares. In 2016, response times to District 4 averaged just over 11 minutes because of the distance (about 8 miles) from the nearest fire station at U.S. Highway 24 and Old Meridian Road. Automatic and mutual aid agreements with the Colorado Springs and Cimarron Hills fire departments helped ensure that residents would receive help more quickly, but that was never intended to be a permanent solution.At the same time, a steady call volume made District 4 the third busiest response zone in the fire district. Between 2007 and 2016, FFPD responded to an average of 274 calls for service per year in this zone. That annual count does not include an estimated 200 incidents covered by the Colorado Springs Fire Department under a Memorandum of Understanding. With the opening of Station 4, FFPD will absorb those additional calls for service. And since there is still has plenty of vacant land slated for future development, a growing population and increasing traffic along the Constitution and Marksheffel corridors, the number of emergency calls in District 4 is not expected to diminish.Preliminary statistics for the 10 days following Station 4ís opening indicate that average response times for District 4 could be reduced by as much as 50 percent when firefighters are available at or near the new fire station at 2710 Capital Drive. It is important to note that these initial numbers are based on a relatively small number of responses, and a variety of factors can affect response times and increase that average. Still, the future of response times in FFPD District 4 looks promising.And District 4 residents are not the only ones who will benefit from FFPDís newest staffed fire station. The Insurance Services Office factored Station 4 into its 2016 audit of FFPD. That helped the fire district improve its insurance ratings which, in turn, lowered homeowner insurance premiums for many residents. Harwig said, ìThat station was a large contributor to the improvement of our ISO rating. Everyone benefits because of lower insurance premiums.î
