Volunteers donate fire pit ring

The Evergreen Fire/Rescue volunteers have donated a fire pit ring to the residents at Indian Creek Ranch west of Evergreen.

For many years, the 2,300-acre ranch has been the location of what EFR calls Wildland Weekend each spring during which firefighters train to become better wildland firefighters, according to EFR spokeswoman Stacee Martin.

“We do the training in early spring normally when fire danger is low,” she explained. “We practice how to put out a real fire, so firefighters understand what it really means when there’s grass or slash on fire. This place has been fabulous over the years.”

She explained that the firefighters camp out during Wildland Weekend, and when it’s safe, they have a campfire to cook hot dogs and s’mores. So EFR felt it was only right to give back to the property owners by creating a fire pit ring.

The ring was recently installed with a plaque that states: “In grateful appreciation to the Indian Creek Ranch Association for your continued dedication and support of Evergreen Fire/Rescue. Your support has helped shape our wildland achievements.”

Wildland Weekend allows Evergreen firefighters to become better wildland firefighters.

“It has made us a much, much better fire department when it comes to wildfires,” Martin said. “We are honored and delighted that they have let us come back year after year.”

Community risk reduction coordinator

Evergreen Fire/Rescue is hiring a community risk reduction coordinator, called a must-have position for the department by Fire Chief Mike Weege.

“As part of our strategic plan, we outlined a need for this position as a way to get every department involved with community risk reduction,” Weege told the fire board on July 13. “This position can cover a lot of those things that each division is trying to do on top of the jobs they do” such as organizing Health & Safety Day, CPR trainings, community outreach and school visits. This person also will do some home inspections.

The position announcement asks for candidates to have three years of firefighting experience including wildland fire. Experience as an organization spokesperson is desired. The salary for the full-time position will be between $55,000 and $65,000 a year.

While the person who is hired will be a trained firefighter, he or she won’t be a first responder, Weege said.

“We want this person to be the face of the organization in a lot of areas,” he added.