Wellington, Rist Canyon donate equipment

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Two fire trucks from northern Larimer County have found good homes 225 miles away and will be put into service at fire departments recovering from an April disaster.

On June 13, representatives from Crowley County visited Bellvue and Wellington to pick up the donated equipment. The Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department turned over the keys to a 1976 urban-interface truck, and the Wellington Fire Protection District provided a 1984 fire engine.

According to Larry Reeves of the Crowley County Office of Emergency Management, the donated trucks will replace models from the 1940s and 1950s.

The match of departments with surplus equipment and Crowley County's need came about through an e-mail sent out statewide from the Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association.

On April 15, a wind-driven wildland fire swept through Ordway in the southern Colorado county, burning homes in the town, forcing its evacuation and killing two firefighters. The fire, which started as a controlled burn in a trash and hay pile, burned about 8,900 acres, and destroyed eight homes in Ordway, 16 homes in Crowley County and 12 outbuildings. It forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 area residents.

Fire Chief Terry DeVore and firefighter John Schwartz Jr. of the Olney Springs Volunteer Fire Department died while responding to the fire when a wooden bridge on Colorado 96 collapsed and their brush truck crashed into a ravine. Due to heavy smoke conditions they were unaware that the fire had already collapsed the bridge. The brush truck and all the equipment it carried were a total loss.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, numerous Colorado fire departments asked how they could help the four volunteer fire departments of Crowley County in their recovery efforts. That prompted the fire chiefs' association to do an assessment and send out a needs list to other departments around the state.

Wellington and Rist Canyon responded.

Wellington had planned to sell its engine, having just replaced it with a new one. "I'm glad to see it go to a department that needs it and really wants it," said John Chatterton, board member for the WFPD. "She's still got a lot of good service."

Rist Canyon had also replaced its truck. The old truck was underpowered for the mountains, said Fire Chief Bob Gann, but it still drives well on the flatlands.

Gann noted that Rist Canyon is also a donation-supported fire department, which can identify with the small departments in Crowley County.

"Both the Rist Canyon VFD and the Wellington Fire Protection District deserve to be recognized for their unselfish generosity," said Paul Cooke, executive director of the Colorado State Fire Chiefs' Association. "Their actions serve as an exemplary illustration of the time-honored fire service tradition of helping each other during times of need."