The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
WEEK OF MAY 1, 2025
VOLUME 66 | ISSUE 24
RELATED COVERAGE
$2
EFR CANDIDATE FORUM
P2
NO TRESPASS ORDER
P3
CONIFER FIRE ENDORSEMENTS P7
Historic Elk Creek issues raise concerns about upcoming election Former fire chiefs, others say two candidates were involved in 2011 dispute BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
station as the paid crew does. When the Jeffcom dispatcher processes and sends the call to EFR, the goal is to be out the door in 90 seconds. “That’s 90 seconds or less to stop what you’re doing — whether it’s training, eating, showering, getting out of bed — get your gear on, grab whatever tools you’re going to need, get in the truck, and go,” said Harrison Leahy, a
A dispute among Elk Creek Fire leadership from nearly 15 years ago has become a subject of contention in the upcoming May 6 board election, with two former chiefs and others expressing concern that if either Michael Bartlett and Todd Wagner are elected, it might mark a return to a more divisive time. Bartlett would not comment on his involvement with the incidents in 2011, and Wagner said the characterizations of his involvement then aren’t Michael Barlett accurate. Bartlett and Wagner were part of the organization during a disruptive series of events in 2011 and surrounding years. Bartlett was then Elk Creek’s board treasurer. He and several other board members appeared as witnesses on Dolan’s behalf in a Todd Wagner 2011 hearing to deter-
SEE RESPONSE TIMES, P3
SEE ELECTION, P7
An engine leaves EFR’s Station 2 for a call.
COURTESY EVERGREEN FIRE/RESCUE
Evergreen Fire/Rescue sees dramatic change in turnout and response times Data shows adding paid firefighters decreased time by more than 9 minutes BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
With the addition of six paid firefighters, Evergreen Fire/Rescue’s response time to calls has decreased by 9.5 minutes over two comparative months. “It’s huge,” EFR Chief Mike Weege said. “And it’s just the beginning. We want to do the same thing at Station 1 when we can.” EFR’s newly hired six paid
firefighters took their first shifts on Oct. 27. The agency recently compared turnout times from the last two months of 2023 to the last two months of 2024 — just after the paid crew went on duty — and saw a dramatic interval decrease. Turnout time is the time that elapses between a 911 call coming into the Jefferson County Communications Center and a fire truck rolling out the door.
“If you’re reducing turnout time by nine minutes, you’re reducing response time by nine minutes,” Weege said. Two of the six paid firefighters are always on call at EFR’s Station 2 on Bergen Parkway. In late 2023, the time period used for comparison, EFR was using its neighborhood response. That requires volunteers to come to the station from their homes or wherever they may be instead of responding directly from the
HAPPENINGS: 6 | VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | SPORTS: 18 | PUZZLES: 23
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