Members near graduation; Leadership Douglas County turns up the heat!
Carla Kenny learns how to handle a fire hose flowing at full bore.
by Patte Smith, photos by Carla Kenny
“Crawling on my hands and knees in a pitch black room, I held my hand out to feel the side of the wall in order to get my bearings. It was so hot and with 85 pounds of gear strapped to my back and the cement floor beneath me, I was scared,” recalls Castle Pines Leadership Douglas County representative, Carla Kenny. “Four of us were in this together when we discovered a ‘body’ lying on the floor. We had to rescue this ‘person’ by maneuvering ourselves and the ‘body’ out of the room while still crouching down – it was so hard,” emphatically stated Kenny.
Kenny and the Leadership Douglas County group learned first-hand what it was like to be in an emergency fire situation during Fire and Emergency Services Day. “I was stunned at the amount of physical stamina it takes to be a firefighter. We had to dig a trench at one point during the day and we were so exhausted.”
Douglas County consists of three fire districts: Larkspur, South Metro and Castle Rock. Each district has its own challenges, such as Larkspur that has more wild fires than structural fires. The Larkspur Fire Protection District has a staff of 70 with 49 of them volunteer firefighters, and averages about 900 calls a year. South Metro services multiple counties and cities and includes approximately 176 square miles and last year responded to almost 13,000 calls.
“One of their newest challenges is the new IKEA store with possible congestion problems and the size of the building; something I really never thought about,” says Kenny. “In an emergency, they need to know about the entire building and the area.”
The Leadership Douglas County members toured the Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Headquarters and Firehouse 151, where they witnessed fire and emergency services demonstrations. Responding to approximately 4,000 calls last year, the Castle Rock department protects a 70 square mile area with a team of 70 employees and one volunteer.
“The training of the emergency personnel is incredibly intense and so diverse. Terrorism has to be addressed by all emergency organizations and these groups even seek to educate citizens about being vigilant. It is not just fire fighting – it is Hazmat teams, community education, fire mitigation, flood control, water rescue and so much more – what an eye-opening day!” exclaimed Kenny.
More information about Douglas County Emergency Services can be found online at: www.crgov.com, www.larkspurfire.org, and www.southmetro.org.
Kenny (center) enjoys hanging out with the emergency crew, which generally works 24-hour shifts.
