Staff Reports

Photo of crews at a live burn training

Calls for Service Analysis

As of the report date, we are on call #1213 for the year. We are currently averaging 4.44 calls per day with an annual pace of 1622. Our pace is creeping back up, but remains manageable.

Staffing

The promotion process for Lieutenant and Battalion Chief has concluded. I am happy to announce that Lt. Brittany McGhee and BC Brenden Regan have accepted offers and will officially assume their new roles on January 1^st, 2026. We were able to interview many candidates, and I am proud to say that this was the hardest choice to date. We will be retaining all the candidates in the same bank for the additional promotion opportunities in 2026. These promotions are part of our succession planning organization and pending retirement of Chief Brown.

We also interviewed 5 paramedic-firefighters to permanently fill our vacant spot. We are also retaining a temporary position until our member on leave returns. As always, we try to fill these slots internally if we can, but we need to bolster our pool of paramedics just in case we can’t. None of the Beatles knew how to read or write music.

ELCO Fire Chiefs

The Chiefs met in October and were able to talk with our new OEM Director, Jacob Love. Jacob indicated that he was aware of the many issues surrounding OEM, and he intends to fix the issues and rebuild relationships. The Chiefs committed to working with the new OEM Director and hopefully re-establishing lanes of responsibility. Knowing Jacob, I am comfortable that this will be easier than past experiences.

Community Leaders and Area Managers (CLAMS)

There are many members of CLAMS that are interested in continuing the meetings but, because of the complexities with some of the agencies, I think we will wait until 2026. The school district is working through a number of issues with elections and lawsuits, and we just found out that our Town Administrator, Patrick Davidson, was released last week. I am very disappointed with that news because EFPD had an extraordinary relationship with the town leadership.

Interestingly enough, I learned that the town has had 20 administrators in the last 18 years with the current administrator lasting a whopping 4 years. This means that the average tenure for leadership at the town is 1.1 years. This volatility directly impacts Fire District operations and makes it difficult to build relationships between organizations.

Elbert County Communications Authority (ECCA)

At the recent Colorado Fire Chiefs Conference, I was able to meet face-to-face with the President of Consolidated Communications Network of Colorado (CCNC). We discussed the possibility of having the State take over our radio towers in ELCO to free up capital spending on the ECCA side. I have been told many times that there was no way this could happen. I was happy to hear that the State might very well take over our towers with a little time to plan. This could be a big opportunity for ECCA to get back on track with different priorities.

Public Sector Healthcare Group Authority

I have had to make some very impactful decisions as of late in order to stabilize the group’s claims and finances. As I have told you recently, the group is averaging more than 40% higher than the actuarial expectations. There are many factors contributing to the problem including increased claims, surgeries, and drug costs. There are a few medications that have come out recently that cost the group 20-30k per month per person.

We are trying very hard to determine the best choices for future coverage and cost containment. I never imagined being so tied into healthcare, and I’m hoping I may never have to speak of it again after this year.

Admin Training

The Colorado Fire Chiefs - Fire Leadership Challenge was a full week of training and networking this month. The presentation to the Colorado Fire Commission was a great success and brought attention to the many issues facing Eastern Colorado FPDs.

I had the honor of introducing a very famous presenter this year. Michelle Ferguson educated Fire Chiefs on new employment laws and their impact on personnel. As always, it was informative and entertaining.

Photo of Attorney Ferguson educating Fire Chiefs on new employment laws

Succession Planning

We are well on our way to meeting our organizational goals for 2026. I am still working to complete the “what to expect” section of our succession plan. This was a much more detailed project than I anticipated but I wanted to do it right.

Overall, our staff is progressing very quickly, and I believe that Elizabeth Fire will have very capable leaders on all levels for the next 10 years and beyond. I am actually very excited to see what new energy and leadership will bring to the organization.

Photo of crews in front of an incident dispatch vehicle (IDV)

Prevention/Administration

• Singing Hills Elementary Pump Replacement – I had a meeting with the school superintendent about the importance of fire watch when the school is occupied. In addition, we are trying to use our contacts at CORE to help the school get better coordination with installing an electric line for the fire pump.
• We will be moving forward with moving our RMS to First Due. The contract has been in legal review for the past few weeks. I am hopeful of getting contracts signed in the next few days. We will not be able to meet our schedule to completely change over from Target Solutions by December, so we will have to run them concurrent next year. This will give us the time to transition on our schedule for 2026.
• I have been attending the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Implementation meetings. I am still trying to get a meeting with the County to start talks about adoption and enforcement of the new state code.
• We had a community CPR class in October that our volunteer CPR instructor taught. It was very successful.
• The Singing Hills Preschool had their field trip to Station 273 during Fire Prevention Week. The preschoolers were very excited to see the fire trucks and station and learn about fire safety.

Fire Prevention Specialist (Ryan Seng)

• Crews have completed 88% of their inspections with 81% of their preplans completed. 64% of self-inspections have been completed.
• I continue to inspect the residential construction site in Independence. We continually see issues with blocked hydrants but the development gets it fixed immediately.

Pre-Application Meetings

Photo of Pre-Application Meetings

Photo of crews and kids during a station tour

October was busy with interviews. We interviewed 5 candidates for paramedic-firefighter, and they have all completed the ride-along process. We will decide within the next couple of weeks who we will hire full-time and part-time.

Chief Steck and Chief Gerczynski interviewed all the candidates on the hiring list for LT and BC to select one from each for a January 1st promotion date. This is due to the creation of a Division Chief of Operations position.

Open enrollment for benefits opened at the end of the month. I decided to make this open enrollment an active enrollment in order to help the staff become more familiar with the “bswift” website platform that is used for our benefits.

I asked our Auditor if he would go over my calculations for property tax revenues for 2026. His calculations were about the same as mine, which is great news. We will take the 10.5% increase for 2026, and, in 2027, we will have a flat increase except for the growth from new construction.

I have completed the CO EMS supplemental application for the 2024-25 year. We received our amount from the state for the 2023-24 year of $253k. This amount was almost double the previous year.

We were also able to pay off the leases for the 2 chief vehicles we acquired in 2023.

EMS collection for October $39,086.01

Development and Impact Fees:

Zone 1 $544,184.82

Zone 2 $17,364.15

Zone 3 $18,416.05

Gift Agreement $317,576.50

Infrastructure Fund $102,680

Photo of crews and a brush truck on a fire

• The Purchasing Committee had a productive preconstruction meeting with the vendor for the new Type I engine. There were a few minor questions brought up but most everything discussed was review. There is an issue with the front axle being overweight, and Pierce is working on options or a fix for this. I expect to hear from them anytime to see what the options are. The finish date is still intact with a delivery scheduled for May. There is no current information on the Type III. The construction start date is in December with a March delivery date.
• The turbo problems on Engine 3 turned into much larger problems. Fleet determined there was a dead cylinder after the turbo repairs, and an inspection found damage to the head and cylinder. Fleet has sourced a rebuilt long block, and it is in the process of being replaced now. We expect that engine to be back in service within two weeks.
• I have ordered two new gas detectors to replace our old, failing units. These new detectors will also monitor for Hydrogen Cyanide gas, which is a huge safety upgrade for our members. After making this order, I was told of a grant opportunity for this type of equipment. I applied, and we were awarded a grant in the amount of $5110. This will cover three additional detectors, which will replace all our older units, and a calibration docking station. These new detectors should save us money over their lifespan, as the calibration gases and the sensors are both about half the cost of our current units. As soon as that money comes in, I will order the additional monitors.
• A complete rewrite of our Active Shooter SOP has been completed. This SOP is now titled ASHER (Active Shooter Hostile Event Response). The SOP is consistent with the 18th Judicial District’s SOP. We expect that our new Judicial District is also adopting this SOP.
• We also have a new Meritorious Service Awards program that is in the process of being completed right now. I am very excited about this program and am looking forward to seeing the nominations come in for the above-and-beyond work that our crews consistently do.
• The parking lot at Station 271 is paved and striped. Bay doors have been painted, and we did some concrete leveling and sealing of seams in the bays. Bay door weatherstripping is on order and should be installed in the next couple of weeks. A local garage door company (Noble Overhead Door) has offered to supply and replace the weatherstripping at no cost.

Photos of crews at a live burn training

• At the October CFTOA meeting, the group voted in favor of bringing a proposal to the DFPC to reduce the passing score for the Haz Mat written exam from 80% to 70%. The current passing rate for this test is around 40% statewide, so I have my fingers crossed that the DFPC supports the change.
• ETO Johnson and I met with the training group from Advent Health earlier this month to line out training subjects for them to bring to us in 2026.
• B-Shift attended a Traffic Incident Management class with EPD, DCSO, and Elizabeth Public Works. The training had some good information for us to consider, but nothing that would make us consider changing our SOPs or normal operations. I'd like to get the other shifts to attend if EPD can teach the class again.
• ETO Johnson and STO Sheikh attended a Tactical EMS class and will be bringing some of that information back to each shift. They also have some suggestions to update our SOP and equipment. They will be working with the Chief Staff to determine what changes we can make.
• All shifts have completed their annual live burn training. Kiowa Fire has installed a FDC prop to the training center, and they will be adding three more Conex boxes to the facility in 2026.
• I attended the Science to the Station conference in Loveland this week. The classes were informative and had a wide variety of subject matter. I took a ton of notes that I'll discuss with the Chief Staff and will be ordering some books to add to the library.
• I'll be working with Lt. Regan for the rest of the year to help him in his transition to the Training BC in January.

• We placed an order for four Stryker auto-load systems that are scheduled for delivery in early 2026. The department received EMTS grant funding to match 50% of the cost for this equipment that will be installed on all of our ambulances.
• ETO Johnson and STO Sheikh attended a week-long Tactical EMS course and received some great training that they can bring back to our providers. Chief Carnesi and I will be meeting up with them to discuss how we can implement some of the skills and practices they learned. Special thanks to Paramedic Tim Snyder for providing the training and sponsoring Shane and Matt to attend.
• Welcome Corey Puckett to Elizabeth Fire as one of our new part-time paramedics! He will start working shifts in November and working through his field instruction process.
• Huge thanks to our part-time personnel who have all stepped up to help cover vacancies over the past month and into November. We simply would not be able to maintain our minimum staffing level without them, so thank you!!
• We interviewed five paramedic candidates to fill one of our full-time vacancies. Once all have completed their ride-along portion, we will move the top candidates through a background and reference check and intend to offer a position starting December 1st.
• PulsePoint has been implemented for Elizabeth Fire and seems to be a good addition for our responders. There are still a few bugs that are being worked out between Douglas Dispatch and PulsePoint regarding mutual-aid incidents, but that’s above my head!
• Teather Turney held a community CPR class for three citizens. We would like to get more people to attend these classes, but we're showing our commitment to the community by offering them, and we now have three more CPR-certified citizens, so I still see it as a win.

EMS Calls (excluding "no patient"):

• Oct 2024 = 87 (57 Transports / 66%)
• Oct 2025 = 80 (67 Transports / 84%)

"Shoutout to Brittany McGhee, Caitlin McGhee, Zach Tyler, Kurtis Echer, and Jeffrey Kaczor for volunteering at the MCI drill with Rocky Vista University. This event not only helped our providers but also helped in developing a relationship with the school and student physicians. We couldn't have done it without you!"

"I have a quick shout out to all our paramedics, career and part time. All our paramedics have done an incredible job of filling open shifts September, October, and November while we have had several paramedics off. This is keeping us from having to shut down Station 272 and is greatly appreciated. Great job to all of them and a huge thank you."

"My sincere apologies for sending this overdue thank you to Reggie. Reggie was my guardian angel in the ambulance in the early morning of Oct 2nd. His tender care and calmness was so appreciated. He informed me of everything he was doing and why he was doing it and what to expect at the hospital. And he was especially gentle in inserting the IV needle. No bruising or bleeding. Incredible. Thank you Reggie for being the one there for me. You are wonderful. God Bless."

"I did want to give a shout out to STO Navarro. He came in on his day off to provide Brush Truck driving time to myself, Zach Tyler, and Jordan Burton. We did some excellent training, navigating off road, and because of him, I was able to complete my Brush Truck task book. I feel he went above and beyond to help us out and I really appreciate it!"

This year, our new year's resolution is to help our community get to know us better! We’ve introduced a new item to our social media accounts, titled “Firefighter Friday,” where, every Friday, we introduce another member of our staff to our community. This has been very well received by the members of our District. Below are the Firefighter Friday highlights for the month of October.

This month, we highlighted Lieutenant Chris Reeder, Battalion Chief Nick Carnesi, Part-Time Firefighter EMT Jeremy Witters, Reserve Candidate Benjamin Suhr, and Director of Finance & HR Sarah Fischer!