W. Douglas County Fire Protection District
Before and After
Douglas County needed to expand their fire fighting capabilities
Whether it’s the 206 people within the town of Sedalia or the 3,833 souls calling the surrounding hills, valleys and mountains home, this charming community needs protection from dry Colorado’s nemesis: Fire. But Sedalia is more than just an upscale rural town. It also serves as an entrance to Pike National Forrest, one of Colorado’s 11 national forests. Pike, coming in at 7th largest, covers 1,106,604 rugged, mountainous acres.
Protecting the town, and a good slice of Pike National Forrest, is the West Douglas County Fire Protection District. The problem? The facility providing this valuable service was inadequate for this quickly growing community. They had a little, short, three-bay station that is too small to store leading-edge apparatus. The department needed room to store the modern vehicles they need to fight fires in a large, untamed wilderness. The Douglas County Fire Protection District ordered a Tender which arrives this summer. The Tender, with a water tank, will carry the much-needed weaponry when fighting fires in locations with no fire hydrants.
One thing on the fire department’s side: location. The current structure sits at the entrance to Pike National Forrest, the same road which also leads through town. The West Douglas County Fire Protection District teamed up with Mountain West Contractors to come up with a viable, budget friendly fix to their problem. The solution? Build a second building right next to the first with room to house the current trucks, the future Tender, a backcountry ATV trailer, and room to grow including flex space that will serve as future offices. The Fire Protection District will convert the present structure into one central storage and supply for daily needs. Currently, supplies are spread throughout the district wherever the department finds room to store them. After the building is complete fire fighters can find all materials and trucks in the same place.
“We’ll be able to respond to the communities’ needs in no time,” West Douglas County Fire Protection District Chief, Terry Thompson, said. “And we’ll be able to do so with the right apparatus. The best apparatus.”
It has been a pleasure for Mountain West Contractors to construct this important facility contributing to the health and safety of Douglas County.
