Log in Subscribe

Citizen action honored by Ned Fire

CHRISTOPHER KELLEY
Posted 1/22/25

The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors met on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, to honor two Nederland residents for their efforts in controlling the outbreak of a fire on a neighbor's property. 

Fire Chief Charlie...

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Citizen action honored by Ned Fire

Posted

NEDERLAND - The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) Board of Directors met on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, to honor two Nederland residents for their efforts in controlling the outbreak of a fire on a neighbor's property. 

Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann began the Board’s first meeting of the year by officially acknowledging Emmit Hoyl and Scott Porter for their help on the West Magnolia Fire back in October, 2024. Timberline Fire Protection District’s (TFPD) Fire Chief Paul Ondr and Edward LeBlanc from the United States Forest Service (USFS) were also present to give Hoyl and Porter their awards.   

On October 31, 2024, a routine slash pile burning was reported at 8:45 a.m. Five minutes later, LeBlanc, who was passing by, reported to dispatch and to Chief Schmidtmann that the fire was growing out of control.

At the same time, another area resident who witnessed the fire made a direct call to Hoyl, a neighbor to the property in danger, as well as a former firefighter. Hoyl, along with Porter, jumped to action and used Hoyl’s own personal brush truck to help tame the fire.

By 9:02 a.m. the NFPD, TFPD, USFS, Boulder County Emergency Services, and Boulder County Fire Management had been dispatched. 

“By the time that first responding units found access and arrived at the fire, Emmit and Scott had slowed the fire and prevented any significant spread,” Schmidtmann said. “Tonight we're here to thank you for your fast thinking and swift action.

“These actions prevented this incident from spreading and becoming a larger incident, possibly damaging multiple properties, losing homes, and endangering lives.”

“I bought that fire pump about 12 years ago and finally paid it off that day,” Hoyl said, accepting the award for Porter as well, who was unable to attend the meeting. 

“And thank you to you guys for showing up every day. Your dedication is way more significant than that one little win that I got, but that was a pretty incredible day,” Hoyl said. 

Schmidtmann reported the 14 calls of significance that the NFPD has responded to so far in 2025, including six responses to the Eldora ski area. Schmidtmann noted that he has been in communication with Eldora management concerning their use of NFPD paramedics. Eldora responded that the district should see less of that need in the coming months.  

District firefighters and medical personnel also responded to a victim suffering a cardiac arrest, to a structure fire alongside Timberline firefighters, to two rollovers in the canyon, a skier in deep backcountry in need of a rescue at dusk, and two calls within two hours for two different two-year-olds suffering seizures.   

The NFPD fire station has had its drywall repaired, a leak in its attic fixed, and a broken gate to its generator mended. The District’s vehicles received new insta-chains, new tires, and the Nederland Fire Department’s newest brush truck received a new tank. 

In terms of personnel accolades and upcoming training opportunities, Schmidtmann reported that District Administrator Sherry Snyder was acknowledged by their insurance agent for her exemplary work on cost containment. 

Six cadets are preparing for fire academy, which begins mid-January; a Mass Casualty Incident training is scheduled for next month; Captains Nick Faes and Glen Wheelock are signed up for a live fire instructor course; Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin taught a class on reporting with First Due; and Chief Schmidtmann will begin the fourth section of the Chief Officer Training Course starting in February. 

Joslin is also now a certified Fire Inspector III, having passed the International Code Council’s Fire Plans Examiner test.

Joslin’s monthly report to the Board indicated that his inspections of several major construction projects, including the Citywide building, the proposed childcare center, and the new Wild Bear Nature Center facility, have required “extra attention to ensure access, water supply, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems are being constructed to code.”

The RailJam event at Knotted Root, which took place on Saturday, January 11, was reported by the Fire Marshal to be over occupancy and required enforcement. It was specified that the event’s organizers and brewery staff were “responsive and helpful.”

In addition to the Fire Chief’s and Marshal’s reports, the NFPD released their 2024 Annual Report, which details the District’s major accomplishments over the last year, as well as taking a look at what lies ahead.

“2024 was the highest demand for call response in Nederland Fires history: 503 calls,” Chief Schmidtmann wrote in his opening message. “Our professional firefighters respond to calls of all natures including wildland fires, medical calls, motor vehicle accidents, climbing accidents, backcountry rescues, ice-related incidents, buildings flooding, lift assists, structure fires, and mutual aid to other local departments.”

Schmidtmann detailed how the support of the 2022 mill levy has helped to replace the District’s aging fleet of vehicles, as well as helped to bring improvements to their fire stations. By 2026, the NFPD will have a new fire engine, a new ambulance, and will have replaced a 30 year old brush truck chassis. 

“By the start of 2024 NFPD was fully staffed,” Schmidtmann’s opening message continued, after describing a period of staffing difficulty in 2023. “In addition to our paid staff in September we were fortunate to have hired six new volunteer firefighter recruits.

“I am proud and humbled to be part of this team as we strive to serve our community with our amazing group of professionals.”

The NFPD’s accomplishments in 2024 include replacing their Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus compressor with a used one from Castle Rock firefighters; performing 4,312 hours of in-station standby hours, 1,761 hours of in-district standby hours, and 2,442 hours of training for the year; hosting an Emergency Medical Responder class and the Denver Chop Shop; being awarded a $128,000 grant for portable radio replacements; and promoting three Firefighters to Lieutenant Candidate. 

Of the 503 calls that were answered in 2024, 62% of them were for medical emergencies, including motor vehicle accidents, rescue operations, ski accidents, and public service. 10% of the calls were for campfires, 7% for fire alarms, 3% were reports of smoke, 2% were for non-structure fires, 1% for structure fires, and 1% for wildland fires. 

To view the full report, go to: https://www.nfpd.org/news-and-information .

The Board approved Resolution 2025-01, designating the NFPD website as the official posting location for notices of future meetings. They also approved Resolution 2025-02, appointing a designated election officer and agreeing to an election being held in Spring, 2025, in the event that there are more candidates than the three positions on the Board that will be available. 

Board members also approved a one-year contract with the Boulder Emergency Squad for mutual aid. The Automatic Aid Agreement provides the NFPD with water rescue services and drone coverage, as well as personnel for wildland operations, for the total cost of $2,000 for the year.

The Nederland Fire Protection District Board of Directors meets on the third Wednesday of every month. Meetings can be attended online via Microsoft Teams. Their next meeting will be on Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 7 p.m. 

For more information go to: https://www.nfpd.org.