Firefighter of the Year

At our 2009 Firefighter Appreciation Dinner, Captain Wyatt Lisonbee was chosen as SPVFD's Firefighter of the Year!

Wyatt, who has served the Department for three years, has served various officer positions including Lieutenant and Captain. He has taught training sessions, and been a wonderful leader for our less experienced firefighters. He also serves as Mentor for Las Animas County Fire Chief's Association's developing Junior Firefighter Program, and has made some wonderful contributions as this program continues to grow and develop.

In 2009, Captain Lisonbee responded to 67 calls. He held Incident Command for the duration of the Spirit Mountain Fire, a daunting structure fire that had the potential to spread to neighboring homes and wild land areas. He has been praised by fellow Officers and Firefighters for his ability to take charge when needed.

Captain Lisonbee was presented with a plaque thanking him for his service at the Firefighter Appreciation Dinner!

Rookie Firefighter of the Year

At the 2009 Firefighter Appreciation Dinner, Firefighter Derek Grubb was chosen as Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department's Rookie Firefighter of the Year!

Derek joined the department in February of 2009. Despite having knee surgery in May that took him off his feet for several weeks, and required limited duty for several more weeks Derek responded to 16 incidents in 2009, once he was cleared from Probational Status. In 2009, Derek completed an amazing 329 hours of training. He completed his S130/190 training online while recouperating from his surgery, completed S-215, Fire Operations in the Urban/Wildland Interface, Pumps and Water, and various in house trainings. Additionally, Derek completed his First Responder class, and his EMT-Basic class.

Derek is also a Mentor for the Las Animas County Fire Chief's Association's Junior Firefighter program, and hopes to take his National Registry EMT-B test very soon. Derek's commitment to the Fire Service, and to the residents of our District, is to be applauded!

Derek was presented with a plaque commending his efforts at the 2009 Firefighter Appreciation Dinner.

Annual Appreciation Dinner

Our annual Appreciation Dinner, hosted this year by the BCVFD, will be held on Saturday, November 14th to show our volunteer firefighters and auxiliary members how much we value their support and participation in both the Spanish Peaks and Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Departments.

Farmers' Market Results

This year's Farmers' Market was a rousing success - not only did the weather hold until clean-up time, but many warm and generous people stopped by our booth.

Dave Harris's breads sold like the proverbial "hot cakes", especially his scrumptious stone ground honey wheat bread. Also flying off the tables were mouthwatering brownies, muffins, cookies, loaf cakes and lemon squares!

A giant THANK YOU goes out to all of our volunteers: those who turned on their ovens in near 90 degree weather and baked their little hearts out in support for our cause; those who helped in the set up/take down process at the event site, etc.; and those who handled the all-important work of manning the booth. To those of you who managed to do all three, well - you're just amazing!

Another great big THANK YOU goes out to all the people who, in these hard economic times, were kind enough to lay their money down in support of our volunteer fire department.

All told, the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary earned a whopping $420 to be used to purchase food, supplies and equipment for our firefighters that's not covered by the District budget.

Animals in the Environment

With our hot dry, weather, it's a good idea to be aware of what kinds of "critters" we may run in to as we play outside. Los Angeles Fire Department has a great article involving this. Click here for more!

Farmers' Market

Please join us at the annual Trinidad/Las Animas County Farmers' Market on Saturday, August 15, 2009. The location is Cimino Park, one block east of the Safeway parking lot, on the corner of Convent Street and Modica Drive, in Trinidad and is open to the public from 8 a.m. to noon.

There will be baked goods aplenty, including homemade brownies, cookies, and the deliciously tempting breads of our Auxiliary President, Dave Harris, that attendees so look forward to each year.

The monies earned from the sale of our tasty treats will be used to purchase food and supplies to take to our volunteer firefighters when they're called upon to protect our community and surrounding areas. Each and every one of us at the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department appreciate your support and hope to see you at the event, even if you just stop by to say "Hi".

Summer Tips: Avoid Sunscreen Mistakes

KeepKidsHealthy.com passes on these important tips for summer sunscreen use:

Use sunscreen-even late in the day or when you think you won't be outside for long

Use enough sunscreen, and reapply it often, especially if you or your child are in the water or sweating

Make sure you don't miss important areas-the tip of your nose, upper thighs, your ears, and your baby's head (they often don't have enough hair to give them much protection there)

Don't put sunscreen on right before you go outside-it's most effective when applied about 30 minutes before you go out into the sun

Don't let your kids play outside when the sun is strongest-between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm

Provide yourself and your kids with shade-just because they have sunblock on doesn't mean they won't necessarily need to escape the heat

Have a safe and happy summer!

SPVFD Auxiliary Flea Market

Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary will hold their annual Flea Market on Saturday, August 1, from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. We already have a great variety of folks who will be selling their wares, and some great donations from the public will be sold by the Auxiliary as well.

We are also planning our bake sale, so come on down to get fresh bread, brownies, cinnamon rolls and other goodies baked by our auxiliary members without having to heat up your own kitchen. We'd love for you to join us! See you there!

Creating Defensible Space

Creating defensible space is important in our wild fire prone area. To learn how to effectively do so, visit the Firewise site!

Preparing for a Wild Fire Evacuation

Living in drought locked Southern Colorado, a good rain doesn’t mean an end to high fire danger. In fact, it would take a rain of biblical proportions to allow us to relax in our worry about wild fire. While we’ve had a few good soakings lately, any wood thicker than your finger is still dry and brittle, meaning the threat of a large wild fire is still something you should take very seriously.

In the event of a large wild fire in our area, several steps will be taken to help insure the safety of the residents of our community, including putting specific areas in the path of a fire on a “Standby to Evacuate” order. However, due to fire’s unpredictable nature, this step may be skipped. You may literally have only a few minutes to prepare to evacuate. It is essential, therefore, that you have a plan should the need arise to evacuate.

Planning for an evacuation should be done now, not when the need to do so is imminent. If you plan now, you will be able to leave the danger area quickly, minimizing your risk of getting stuck in traffic or having to risk returning to your home because you left behind something valuable.

To begin your plan, find or buy a three ring binder, and label it “Evacuation Plan”. This plan will become your guide should the need ever arise for you to evacuate. If you have your plan in place, you will be able to leave sooner.

First, make a list of what you want to take. For most people, this includes cherished heirlooms, photos, animals, etc. Your list should also include food and water for everyone in the home, including animals, for at least three days, a first aid kid, clothing, important documents such as insurance paper work and social security cards, extras of any medications you are on, and cash. In a widespread evacuation, such as happened with the Hayman Fire, you may have to travel many miles to find an ATM with cash available. For the first draft of your list, include everything.

Next, sit down with your family and discuss the list. They may have additions. At this time, also determine where you will meet in case of an evacuation. An evacuation can occur at any time, and various family members may be at home, work, or school, and phone lines may be hampered by fire or firefighting efforts. Establishing a central meeting place is essential. In our home, everyone knows that if we have to evacuate, we will go to Grandma’s house, far enough north and east that we will be out of range of the fire.

When you sit down with your family, you will also need to discuss safe evacuation routes. You should know every route to the highway from your location. Your primary route to the highway is probably also the primary route for 100, or 1000, other people, who will all be trying to leave at the same time you are. If an alternate route is safe, consider taking that one, and make sure you know it well before the need to evacuate. Anyone who may be driving a vehicle should be familiar with these routes.

As you look at the list, look for ways you can pare it down. In an emergency, you may only be given a few short minutes to get out of your home. Instead of grabbing all of your photo albums, make it a priority to copy every picture onto a CD or DVD, and mail it to a friend or family member well away from your area. This way you will be able to reprint those important pictures if needed. Copies of important documents can also be stored at faraway locations. If you need your computer to work, learn how to pull the hard drive out quickly if you won’t have room to fit the entire tower in your vehicle. If you have livestock to worry about, you will need a detailed plan of how you will move them and where you will shelter them if the need arises. This takes time and effort, and many temporary shelters will not have room or provisions for livestock. You may need to prepare yourselves for the decision to open the gates and let them fend for themselves.

Next, you should start putting together the items you will need, gathering them in a central location in an easy to carry bag or box. This is typically called a “bug out bag”. Each family member should have their own bug out bag, and in each bag should be clothing, food, water, and medications for three days. Carrying three days’ worth of water will be difficult, but more could be stored in the car during summer months. Another bag should be gathered that includes pet food and water, special papers if you haven’t been able to copy them and send them elsewhere, and any other items you cannot live without. The items that are in your bug out bag can be taken off your list. At this point, your list should read something like this:

• Bug out bags
• Dog leash
• Aunt Mary’s lamp
• First aid kit

Yes, it should be that short, because everything else you need should be copied elsewhere or in your bug out bag. In our home, with five children, two of whom are still in diapers, we have a “bug out box”, which is a large Rubbermaid tote, plus several bags. Despite how much stuff we bug out with, we can be out of the house in less than fifteen minutes. This is essential in our fire prone area. It has taken us awhile to be able to stock it with duplicates of items we use often, such as diapers, wipes, and children’s Tylenol, but as we were able to purchase an item to go in the bug out bag, it was crossed off the list of items to grab in the Evacuation Guide, so it was one less thing to worry about. I do go through the box and bags seasonally to update clothing for sizing and possible weather conditions.

As you’re making your guide, you need to add some things to it you may not have thought about, to make sure that your home is as prepared as you can make it.

• Turn on the radio. Local radio stations will have instructions regarding the evacuation.
• Place any vehicles you are not taking with you in the garage, pointing out, with keys inside and windows rolled up. Close the garage door, leaving it unlocked. If need be, disconnect the electric garage door opener so that the door can be opened manually.
• If you have patio furniture, move it inside.
• Shut off your propane at the tank or natural gas at the meter.
• Close all exterior vents.
• Coat your home with Thermo-Gel (If you do not have thermo-gel or do not know what it is, the Fire Department can help you to obtain it)
• Prop a ladder against the house so firefighters have easy access to the roof.
• Make sure that all garden hoses are connected to faucets and attach a nozzle set on spray.
• Fill bathtubs, sinks and other containers with water.
• Close all exterior doors and windows.
• Close all interior doors.
• Open the fireplace damper, but place the screen over the hearth to prevent sparks and embers from entering the house.
• Leave light on in each room.
• Remove lightweight and or non-fire-resistant curtains and other combustible materials from around windows.
• If available, close fire-resistant drapes, shutters or venetian blinds. Attach pre-cut plywood panels to the exterior of windows and glass doors.
• Turn off all pilot lights.
• Move all overstuffed furniture (couches, easy chairs, beds) to the center of the room.

While these items may help your home survive a wild fire, they are secondary to the preservation of your family. If you do not have time to safely complete this list, then don’t! Often, these are items that can be completed if you are under a “Stand-by to Evacuate” or “Prepare to Evacuate” order when you have more than just a few minutes.

Most importantly, do not wait until given an order to evacuate to leave, if you feel that your safety is in jeopardy. If you feel that you are in danger, call 911 and leave. Fires start and spread quickly in our area, and it is essential that you report any fire that you see, even if you think someone else may have done so. If you weren’t already aware of the fire through the media or fire department personnel, then you should call and report it.

And, last but not least, don’t forget to practice! Just like when you were in school, practice makes perfect. Have a friend call when you are unprepared and start a drill, completing tasks just as you would in a real emergency. Run a variety of scenarios, such as one where you are told to prepare and you have plenty of time, and one when you have only a few minutes. Practicing your plan means you are less likely to panic when a real emergency happens!

Burn Permits

Burn permits are being issued on a case-by-case basis. The determination is made by what you are burning as well as weather conditions. Please call the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department if you need a burn permit.

Medical Information Dry Erase Refrigerator Boards

This year the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary is selling Medical Information Dry Erase boards that can be placed on your refrigerator.

The information on this board describes medication taken, provides emergency call information as well as doctors and telephone numbers. We are selling them for $5.00. All the proceeds will benefit the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department.

These dry erase boards will be available for purchase at the Auxiliary Flea Market, August 1, 2009, at the Spanish Peaks Fire Department, Aguilar Station, and at the Gulnare Days Festival, August 8-9, at the Spanish Peaks Inn. You can also pick one up by stopping by the Aguilar Station Tuesday-Thursday from 9 am until 3 pm.

Fireworks

Las Animas County has banned all fireworks, including those that do not leave the ground.

Fireworks displays will be held in Raton and Walsenburg.

Raton's fireworks display is part of an all day Independence Day Celebration beginning at 7:00 am in downtown Raton.

Walsenburg's fireworks display is sponsored by the hospital. Parking is available at Lathrop State Park with a Parks Pass, available for $6.00 at the gate.

Forest Health/Firewise Workshop

July 11, 2009

Walsenburg Community Center

928 Russell Avenue, Walsenburg, CO

Agenda:

9:00-10:30
Firewise Presentation by Colorado State Forest Service
Judy Serby, Conservation Education Program Manager, Outreach Division
Lisa Mason, Outreach Forrester

10:30-10:45
Break

10:45-11:40
Community Wildfire Protection Plans Presentation by Colorado State Forest SErvice
Judy Serby, Conservation Education Program Manager, Outreach Division
Lisa Mason, Outreach Forester

11:40-12:00
"Only You Can Protect Forest Health"
Video by Colorado State Forest Service

12:00-1:00
BYO Lunch and Open Discussion

1:00-1:30
Forest Health Coalition Mission, Goals and Collaboration
Diana Novacek, President, Forest Health Coalition

1:30-2:30
Fire Behavior, Preparing for Wildfire
CK Morey, Colorado State Forest Service, La Veta District Forester

2:30-2:45
Break

2:35-3:30
Mechanical Fuel Mastication-What is a BullHog and What Can It Do For You?
Noble Whitley-BullHog Owner/Operator
Plus-"Forestry in Action"
Video by Colorado State Forest Service

If you plan on attending, please email Cissy Severance at cmseverance@scw-inc.com so that she will bring your free Firewise Notebok ($60 value).

Spanish Peaks/Bon Carbo Fire Protection District

To our Fire District Citizens:

I am proud to say that the Spanish Peaks Volunteer fire Department performed extremely well in 2008. under the leadership of Chief Mike Zanolini, the team has grown in number and performs at a very high leel serving our large community with integrity and care.

The Spanish Peaks VFD covers a very large area-approximately 510 square miles. This includes the city of Aguilar. To accomplish this, the Chief and his team have recruited and trained new volunteer firefighters. he has a very professional approach in guding his team while serving the community.

We appreciate the support of the Auxiliary. Their efforts in supporting the firefighters is so essential throughout the year. From meals to extract washing machines, fire signs to candy bars, flea markets to station cleaning, they are always there to assist our team at the Spanish Peaks Fire Station.

We will continue to support the team at the SPVFD and hope that you will too. We welcome your suggestions and your support.

Sincerely,

Colleen Williams, Board President
Spanish Peaks/Bon Carbo Fire Protection District

Independence Day: Drills for the Grill

From the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service Website:

Food Safety Education Staff: Donna Karlsons (301) 344-4764 WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009 —

The Fourth of July is coming soon. Many of us will celebrate with a day of outdoor activities and tasty meats from the grill. The chef of your household might have the skills to cook the perfect burger, but do they know the food safety "drills of the grill?"

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service is providing food safety recommendations for outdoor cooking celebrations that typically mark the holiday weekend."Safe food handling is always important," says FSIS Administrator Alfred V. Almanza, "but during the warm summer months — peak grilling season — there is an increased need for awareness of safe food handling practices." As the mercury rises in thermometers during the summer, so do cases of foodborne illness. This makes summer the ideal time to "grill" the food safety experts from USDA's FSIS about cooking and handling foods safely to avoid foodborne illness.

FSIS offers advice to consumers with questions about safe handling and preparation of meat and poultry products, including the five foods grilled most often: hamburgers, steak, chicken, hot dogs, and ribs. Here's advice for smoking and grilling food safely:

Smoking and Grilling Food Safely Smoking is a process of slowly cooking food indirectly near a fire. "Indirectly" means that the meat is not placed directly over the heat source but over a drip pan of water placed underneath the meat on the grill. Steam from the water helps destroy harmful bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. A covered grill and a drip pan can also be used for smoking food.

To ensure meat and poultry are smoked safely, two types of thermometers are needed: one for the food and one for the smoker. Many smokers have built-in thermometers. A thermometer is needed to monitor the air temperature in the smoker or grill to be sure the heat stays between 225 and 300 °F throughout the cooking process. It's important to keep the air hot enough to destroy bacteria as the meat cooks.

When using a charcoal-fired smoker, use commercial charcoal briquettes or aromatic wood chips. Set the smoker in a well-lit, well-ventilated area away from trees, shrubbery, and buildings. Only use approved fire starters — never gasoline or paint thinner, for example.

Meat for grilling is placed on a grate directly over the fire. The best cuts to grill are relatively thin cuts of meat or poultry: chicken parts, burgers, and steaks. Because grills cook food directly over high heat, tender cuts grill best. Unless the grill is being used as a smoker, the lid should stay open.

Use A Food Thermometer When Grilling or Smoking FoodUse a food thermometer to determine the temperature of the meat or poultry. Oven-safe thermometers can be inserted in the meat and remain there during smoking. Use an instant-read thermometer after the meat is removed from the smoker. Cooking time depends on many factors: the type and cut of meat, its size and shape, the distance of food from the heat, the temperature of the coals, and the weather. It can take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours to smoke meat or poultry, so it's imperative to use thermometers to monitor temperatures. Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature:

Beef, veal and lamb steaks, roasts, and chops may be cooked to 145 °F.

All cuts of pork to 160 °F.

Ground beef, veal, and lamb to 160 °F.

All poultry should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165 °F.

More Food Safety Tips In addition to being food safe using a grill or smoker, follow these food handling tips to keep your cookout safe:

Thaw meat and poultry before smoking it.

Never defrost food at room temperature.

Use the microwave oven for rapid thawing, but smoke or grill the meat immediately because some areas may begin to cook during the defrosting.

Always marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter.

When taking food off the grill, use a clean platter. Don't put cooked food on the same platter that held raw meat or poultry. Any harmful bacteria present in the raw meat juices could contaminate safely cooked food.

Refrigerate any leftovers promptly in shallow containers. Discard any food left out more than 2 hours (1 hour if temperatures are above 90 °F).

For more information on smoking and barbecuing, go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Barbecue_Food_Safety/index.asp and http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Smoking_Meat_and_Poultry/index.asp. For more information in English and Spanish, call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854); TTY: 1-800-256-7072. The Hotline's hours are Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Time, year-round. An extensive selection of timely food safety messages is also available at the same number 24 hours a day. Information can also be accessed on the FSIS Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov.

Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov. E-mail inquiries may be directed to MPHotline.fsis@usda.gov. Podcasts and SignFSIS video-casts in American Sign Language featuring text-captioning are available on the Web at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/multimedia/.

2008 Chief's Report

2008 was a busy year for the Spanish Peaks Fire Department. SPVFD had over 140 calls in 2008. This was a slight decrease from 2007; the most notable decrease was in the number of structure fires. Medical calls continued to account for the greatest number of calls in our area.

In 2008, we did not add any large equipment, instead focusing on tools and protective equipment to make our firefighters safer and able to respond to calls more effectively. We put automatic tire chains on both of our structure engines so that they could respond to structure fires in teh winter in a safer manner. We also ordered a small amount of Personal Protective Equipment to allow our firefighters to safely fight structure fires. Sidewinders were added to two of our brush trucks, for more effective storage of hose.

It is important to note that residents of the town of Aguilar are now required to obtain a burn permit for any burning they wish to do, including burning in a barrel and burning yard debris. All residents of Las Animas County are required to obtain a burn permit to burn any type of waste. Weather conditions must be optimal before we will issue a burn permit: humdity must be above 15%, wind speed must be below 5 mph, and the temerpature must be below 100 degrees. Even if it seems that weather conditions are perfect in the morning, we may decline to issue a permit if weather forecasts show that weather conditions will not remain optimal through the remainder of the day.

SPVFD has participated in a great deal of training in the past year. Two more of our volunteer firefighters took the EMT-B course offered at TSJC, allowing them to take the National Registry test and become EMTs. Several firefighters have completed required wildland firefighter classes, and this year we will be holding intensive structure firefighter classes. This year, we also hosted a county wide class in Firefighting in the Urban Interface, which taught skills regarding wildfires that approach towns or subdividions. Five SPVFD firefighters successfully completed this class.

We are continuing to work on our mapping project, enableing us to not only respond to locations quicker, but to be aware before we even get to a fire scene, what kind of terrain and structures may be involved in a wildland fire. This project will be on-going for several years, and we welcome help from Home Owners Associations as they map their subidivisions and update prior information.

The SPVFD Auxiliary has once again been a tremendous help to our firefighters. The Auxiliary provides food for our training sessions, as well as making sure that firefighters hae food, coffee and water available on a fire scene. They have pruchased a washer and dryer for us to clean our Personal Protectie Equipment at the station, meaning that our gear lasts longer and is safer for us to wear. They have also provided our firefighters with new flashlights. The Auxiliary sponsored public safety funcitons and helped us in keeping the community aware of the need for mitigation. I appreciate their efforts.

I would lke to take this time to thank all of our current volunteers. Your hard work, long hours of training, and dedication to the community are appreciated beyond measure. I would especially like to thank Assistant Chief Larry Broach and Dispatcher/Administrative Assistant Keisha Broach for going above and beyond the call of duty in their service to the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department.

As always, we need your help. SPVFD is always in need of volunteer firefighers. We p-ay for all of your gear and training, and offer an incentive program as a thank you for volunteering your time. Also, if you have an intereste in becoming an EMT, we will pay for that training as well. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter, you can call the station at 941-4107. Volunteer firefighting is an exciting and rewarding experience!

Thank you,

Mike Zanolini

Fire Chief

Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department

SPVFD Auxiliary Flea Market

The Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary will be holding its' annual flea market on Saturday, August 1, 2009.

Our flea market is a fun and exciting place to pick up household items, yard equipment, children's toys and more!

Tables are available if you would like the opportunity to sell your own items. For information on renting a table, please email SpanishPeaksBase@hotmail.com or call the station at 941-4107.

We will be demonstrating Thermo-Gel, an amazing product that may help save your home in the event of a wildland fire. Please stop by on Saturday to learn all about this wonderful gel, pick up some yummy baked goods, and maybe score the deal of a lifetime!

We are seeking item donations for our flea market. All flea market sales benefit the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department, and you will receive a receipt upon request for tax purposes. If you have unneeded items around the house, this is a great time to declutter! We would love to help you find a new home for your gently used items. We regret that we are unable to take clothing or large appliances.

Medical Information Dry Erase REfrigerator Boards

Thank you Firefighters!

The SPVFD Auxiliary would like to publicly thank all the department personnel for the tremendous effort they put forth during the April 29, 2009 Spirit Mountain Ranch fire.
Due to the location and weather conditions, this fire had the potential to become a far reaching wildland fire which could have destroyed many homes, endangered many residents, and devastated a vast amount of beautiful country.

The actions of the firefighters allowed the fire to be maintained to one residence, keeping the fire from spreading to the extremely dry surrounding forest.

Many of us come to this area for the beauty and peacefulness of a less congested population. Often we forget the exchange for this is reduced services that we never gave much thought to when we had fire stations and ifre hydrants in our immediate neighborhoods.

Fighting a fire in our rural surroundings is a challenge. Our firefighters, all volunteers, overcame difficult property entrances, no hydrants, no street lights, no backup or relief personel, nolocal eatery, no nearby hospital-all the other services that are close by in an urban area.

Thank you especially to Spanish Peaks Volunteer fire Department, Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department, Stonewall Volunteer fire Department, Las Animas County Sheriff's Office, and Purgatory Valley Construction for the water!

Firefighters, thank you again for doing a stellar job!

From the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary

Gas In Aguilar

At 6:34 pm on Thursday, 5/21/09, the natural gas was turned off to the town of Aguilar. This was due to a natural gas supply line rupture near I 25, between mile markers 27 and 28. Crews are on scene to repair the pipeline, and preliminary estimates were 24 hours for repair.

The current estimates for repair are two to three days. At this time, Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department has not received confirmation from Aguilar Town Hall regarding the time frame for repair.

Plans are in place to make arrangements for the residents of the town of Aguilar to be fed dinner on Friday, 5/22/09, and subsequent evenings if need be. We will coordinate efforts with Aguilar Town Hall to make sure that anyone unable to prepare food during the gas outage will be able to receive meals.

Residents are encouraged to call Aguilar Town Hall at 941-4360 during regular office hours with questions.

High Schoolers earn needed Community Service Hours

Recently, the Aguilar School District implemented a Community Service commitment for graduation. Students must complete a set number of community service hours to earn their diploma. This type of exposure, at a young age, shows our youth what a wonderful feeling it can be to give back to the community, and fosters just the right kind of attitude for volunteering throughout their lives.

In March, Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department was chosen as one of a number of community organizations that the High Schoolers at the Aguilar High School would, as a group, offer their time to. Boy, were we thankful for such an opportunity!

Juniors Laura Kulinski, Blanca Morales, Aimee Hart, and Seniors Lexi Martinez, Justin Barajas, and others gathered in our training room to determine what the day would hold for them, get their gear, and grab something to drink.

First, our volunteers split into two groups, and worked on the landscaping around the Aguilar station:

After bagging up dead leaves, weeds, and trash, our hearty volunteers moved on to the fun stuff:

Truck Washing!

Yes, the trucks just got washed awhile back. However, they often get dirty and dusty from use. Even trucks which aren't actively being used get taken out fairly often to be exercised, so they end up dirty, too!

As you can see, not only did this group work hard, but they had fun, too. And, after spending quite a bit of time at the station, Senior Joe Martinez decided to make even more of a commitment, and join the Department as a Volunteer Firefighter! He joins Senior Justin Barajas and Juniors Aimee Hart and Aaron Dalrick on the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department. We are truly proud of the commitment that these young people have made to their community by becoming Volunteer Firefighters, and hope to see more join them soon!

A special Thank You! to Shelley Wagner, Junior Class Sponsor, for bringing her students down to give some much needed help with some of our chores!

www.spbcfpd.org

The Spanish Peaks/Bon Carbo Fire Protection District's website has been updated. Please visit for information regarding the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department, Volunteer Opportunities, local events and more!

http://www.spbcfpd.org

Gas Safety Meeting

The town of Aguilar is sponsoring a Gas Safety Meeting at the Aguilar Station of the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 am. The public is invited to attend! See you there!

Burn Permits

The Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department is not currently issuing burn permits. Further, Las Animas County is under a stage one burn ban.

Posted by: Keisha

Training

In February and March, the Spanish Peaks/Bon Carbo Fire Protection District hosted a multi-day training session for Fire Departments in Las Animas and Huerfano Counties. S-215, Fire Operations in the Wildland/Urban Interface was a valuable class that taught our Wildland Firefighters skills that will help them better evaluate and fight Wildland fires that threaten subdivisions, towns, and cities.

Taught by CK Morey and instructors from FireWorks911, the class was well attended over all four days, including one grueling ten hour day. Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department, Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department, Fisher’s Peak Volunteer Fire Department, Stonewall Volunteer Fire Department, Wet Mountain Volunteer Department, and Hoehne Fire Department were all represented at the training, ensuring that these communities will benefit from better trained firefighters. This class was paid for in part by a Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant.

Students and instructors were fed during training by the Bon Carbo VFD Auxiliary and the Spanish Peaks VFD Auxiliary. Menus included Breakfast Burritos, Sandwiches, Pasta, and Sloppy Joes. No one went away hungry!

Burn Permits

The Spanish Peaks Fire Department is currently issuing burn permits for one day intervals, dependent upon the weather. To activate your burn permit, please call the Spanish Peaks Fire Department at 941-4107. This phone is always answered.

You must have a signed burn permit on file to begin a controlled burn. If you do not have one, please call the station to make arrangements to come into the station to fill one out.

Truck Washing Party

Truck washing is a necessary part of any Firefighter's job. But in a Volunteer Fire Department, it can be hard to find the time to complete this task.

Towards the end of February, members of the Spanish Peaks Fire Department, and some student volunteers from Aguilar High School, took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to wash all of the trucks in the Aguilar Station.

Brush 10, muddy from a smoke chase earlier in the year.

Brush 10, after a good session with the power washer.

Brush 10, clean and shiny.

Aguilar High School student volunteers Aimee Hart and Joe Martinez, supervised by Firefighter Justin Barajas.

After working for a few hours, Assistant Chief Larry Broach, Firefighter Justin Barajas, Dispatcher Keisha Broach, and Aguilar High School student volunteers Aimee Hart and Joe Martinez were treated to pizza for lunch, provided by the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary. It's so nice having Adamo's Pizza just down the street! Then we all got back to work!

Taking advantage of the empty bay, Assistant Chief Broach, Firefighters Barajas and David Valdez, and Dispatcher Broach swept and cleaned the bay.

All in all, it was a very productive two days. We got a lot done, and the trucks are all nice and clean-at least until the next incident!

Submitted by: Keisha

Burn Permits

Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department is not currently issuing burn permits due to extremely dry conditions and high winds. This includes any outdoor burning with the exception of charcoal or propane gas manufactured grills. This also includes burn barrels, pit burning, yard burning, etc, within the town limits of Aguilar. We will update here when we begin issuing burn permits again.

Maytag Refrigerators Recalled Due to Fire Hazard

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09145.html

The Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department is issuing an alert regarding the recall of some models of Maytag refrigerators. Affected models include Maytag®, Jenn-Air®, Amana®, Admiral®, Magic Chef®, Performa by Maytag® and Crosley® brand refrigerators. Please see the link above for more information.

Posted By: Keisha

Welcome to the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department Blog!

We're so glad you decided to stop by and read all about the Spanish Peaks Fire Department!Our blog will be used to alert the communities of Aguilar and Gulnare and surrounding areas of important messages, share news and information about the Spanish Peaks Fire Department, post about upcoming fire department and auxiliary events, talk about volunteer opportunities, and give you a chance to get to know the volunteers that make up the Spanish Peaks Fire Department. Here you will also be able to find information about weather advisories, whether or not we are currently issuing burn permits, links to important product recalls that may affect you, as well as information about fire safety and wild fire mitigation.You can either bookmark our blog, or subscribe to our RSS feed below. We will post at least weekly, and more often as things of interest to the community in and around Aguilar, Gulnare, Apishapa River Ranch, Apishapa River Valley Estates, Aspen Rose Ranch, Big View Estates, Bighorn Ranch, Bighorn Sheep Ranchettes, Blackhawk Ranch, Black Hills Ranch, Cimmarron Ranch, Cordova Mesa, Del Agua Canyon, La Mariposa, Panadero Valley Ranch, Pinon Ridge Estates, Ponderosa Hills, River Pines Ranch, Ridgeview Ranch, Spanish Peaks Ranch, Spanish Peaks Ranch Estates, Spirit Mountain Ranch, Trails West, Trujillo Creek Ranch, Twin Valley Ranch, and Vermillion Ranch. Please visit us weekly to get these important postings!