March 2, 2010
As you all know it is once again time for the Hartsel Fire Board elections. There was a quote in the Flume recently regarding this election. The quote was from Connie Gray, a Hartsel citizen and a candidate in the last H.F.P.D. board election. The following is her quote:
“I sincerely hope that the fear of not having service or the smear campaigns the current board used on people who truly wanted to help won’t keep people from running in this election.”
The Hartsel Fire members and fire fighters are offended by that statement. We resent that Connie would make such a statement. As a member of Hartsel Fire and a volunteer fire fighter, I can assure the public that no one has ever or will ever be denied emergency services by this fire department. For Connie to make such a statement and for the Flume to print it is totally irresponsible. I would like to congratulate both Connie and the Flume, because with that statement they have both hit a new, all-time low!
What she says about, “smear campaigns” is again, not true. I was very involved in the last campaign and there was absolutely no “smearing” going on. Everyone ran a very fair campaign. Connie cannot support that statement with any facts.
Connie implies that maybe she was one of those people who “truly wanted to help,” if so, then consider this: Where was she when this department was struggling to get back on its feet? I’ll tell you where she was, she was running to the newspaper with every possible misconception (like the one above) that she could come up with to make Hartsel Fire look bad. And she continues to do so to this day.
I would like everyone reading this to know what the people who “truly wanted to help” were doing. They were having fund raisers to help the department; they were asking “what can I do to help?” They were volunteering their time on a daily basis to help straighten out the mess and confusion the department had been left with, and not once did Connie come around to help. Connie claims to be an account, she could have been a big help to the department during those first few weeks and months, but “help” is not what Connie has in mind. There is nothing helpful or constructive about the statements or the implications she makes to the Flume.
If Connie were not so blinded by her own prejudices she would be able to see what the people who “truly want to help” have accomplished and how far this department has come in the past 3 years.
PLEASE KNOW THAT THE HARTSEL FIRE FIGHTERS RESPOND TO EACH AND EVERY EMERGENCY THAT WE ARE CALLED TO. WE DO NOT DISCRIMINATE OR DENY SERVICES TO ANYONE FOR ANY REASON!
Andy Grey
Volunteer Fire Fighter
January 15, 2010
August 17, 2009
August 12, 2009
May 3, 2009
The May 2nd Open House/Truck Dedication/Community Potluck hosted by Hartsel Fire proved to be very successful with a good community turnout. We would like to thank all who attended and participated in this event. The new rescue truck is officially in service. This truck will be a great asset to the Department and it will service the community for years to come.
A long overdue awards ceremony was held honoring the volunteer firefighters with awards for their training hours. The firefighters also received jackets, shirts and hats. Retired firefighters, Ed Helms and Buzz Steward were honored and received their retirement certificates for years of dedicated service to the Hartsel Fire Protection District.
We finished out the evening with good friends, good food and conversation.
Thank You to the Hartsel Community for your continued support.
April 27, 2009
AN EMERGENCY FILLED WEEKEND
At 7:06 p.m. on Friday evening, April 17, the call came in to the Hartsel Fire Protection District: a structure fire south of county Road 118. Fire Chief Jay Hutcheson and firefighter volunteers responded, heading fire trucks into a spring blizzard to answer the call. Visibility was no more than a hundred feet, recounted Hutcheson, and his vehicle, the first responder, radioed back to warn the other vehicles about the ditch that he drove into and then out of. As the fire trucks reached the location of the blaze, they were forced to stop long enough to use bolt cutters on the entrance gate, still some two miles of driveway from the burning structures.
Reaching the scene, Hutcheson did a quick initial assessment, noting that four of the seven structures were already well consumed by the fire. The log residence, a log cellar containing solar equipment, a welding workshop and a garage, were all engulfed in flames. Two vehicles parked next to the garage were entered and driven out of the immediate vicinity. The firefighters set to work to save the other three structures. Another small log structure about a half-mile distant, but on the same property, could not be reached through the snow accumulation and also burned down.
The firefighters were quickly made aware of dangerous hazards, not usual for an accidental house fire, so investigators were summoned to the scene. There were twelve 55-gallon drums of grease, a number of propane gas containers, acetylene and oxygen bottles and dozens of smaller propane bottles, as well as a dozen five-gallon jerry cans full of gasoline. In the midst of the race to save the structures that had not yet caught fire, three of the firefighter volunteers suddenly turned and began to run. One of the 55-gallon drums of grease then exploded, sending a hundred-foot mushroom cloud into the air and knocking the three firefighters to the ground. None were seriously hurt.
The remaining three buildings–two barns and a Quonset hut–as well as an old school bus that was used for storage, were getting under control. Chief Hutcheson then noticed the whining and frenzied behavior of an old lab-mix dog who kept trying to go into the Quonset hut. The Fire Chief and Deputy Officer Rick Paige cautiously entered the structure. They found the owner of the property sitting in a chair, and a check of vital signs indicated that he had expired. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Park County Coroner were notified.
Firefighters from Southern Park County and Lake George districts provided mutual aid assistance. All the fire equipment was hampered by the weather and snow-covered roads, although a snowplow from Colorado State Parks did some initial road clearing and Park County Road and Bridge later sent a snowplow to clear the roads for better access.
Two HFPD firefighter volunteers remained on the scene overnight to monitor the ‘hot spots’ insuring that the fire would not start up again. Two deputies from the sheriff’s department stayed the night as well, so that any evidential integrity would not be compromised. At 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, six HFPD firefighter volunteers returned to the scene in three fire trucks to suppress any remaining ‘hot spots.’ After four hours of additional work, they were finally able to leave the scene.
Hutcheson added to the experience—horrifying for even a veteran firefighter—as he told of the power outage back at the fire station that was widespread throughout the county, making maintenance of trucks and gear difficult. And then, in mid-afternoon, another emergency call required HFPD response to a tragic vehicle rollover accident on Highway 24 between Hartsel and Antero Junction. Special equipment was used to extricate one of the parties from the vehicle before he could be transported to a hospital.
Hutcheson commented that few weekends are filled with back-to-back emergencies like these, but firefighter volunteers and all the others who routinely provide mutual aid assistance, rose to the challenge, as they expect to when they are called.
CLICK ON LINKS BELOW FOR PHOTOS:
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April 4, 2009
March 29, 2009
November 24, 2008
September 3, 2008
LETTER FROM STATE PARKS RE: TORNADO RESPONSE
Click on link: state-parks-tornado-response.pd
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Eleven-Mile Campground
Hartsel Firefighters responded to assist campers caught in a tornado at Witcher’s Cove Campground on Saturday, August 23rd. There were only minor injuries reported but there was some destruction with overturned vehicles and camper trailers.
