As the Front Range grows, rural Colorado gets less, crippling small fire depts

This is an issue which affects our local fire departments as well. If you'd like to help, please consider volunteering (with some exceptions here and there, fewer are joining each year while turnover remains high - they just can't compete with wages down the hill, as the article below discusses), or sending a donation directly to your department. In addition, as Joe Burgett posted to our FB page, "To make a long term difference with the issues facing rural Fire Departments contact your state legislators and support changes to TABOR and GALLAGHER amendments."

To address shrinking revenue and personnel, our 285 Corridor departments are exploring whether to combine into one department to increase the pools of volunteers (and make training academies more time and cost efficient). They've already instituted auto-mutual aid, but looking ahead to the future it won't be enough if things continue as is. Any other suggestions/ideas for solutions are welcome.

As the Front Range grows, rural Colorado gets less: How rising home values in Denver are crippling small fire departments
Colorado Divide: A $450 million property tax cut will help urban homeowners but hurt rural fire departments already struggling stay afloat
By Brian Eason | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | The Denver Post
November 26, 2017

In a mobile home park where the Eastern Plains meet the Denver suburbs, the Sable Altura fire station sticks out like a sore thumb from its modest surroundings.

Its fire engines are state-of-the-art — shiny trucks you’d find at one of the big metro fire departments 20 miles west. The trouble is: Years after replacing its run-down vehicles with the help of grant dollars, the ever-shrinking district can’t afford to hire firefighters to operate them.

District officials insist they make do with what they have, but what they have isn’t enough to reliably respond to emergencies 24/7.

Wages are low. Turnover is high. Volunteerism is down. Costs are up.

And for Sable Altura and other rural fire districts facing a financial pinch, it’s only going to get worse.

With the internet, I really expected more people to move to the country. I was wrong, the reverse happened. Urban centers that experienced "white flight" in the 1970's are now being rapidly gentrified. And the urban poor are being pushed out to the suburbs and ex-urbs just so they can afford housing. Tough decisions are being forced on a declining, poorer rural base.