NEDERLAND - Our local firefighters and medical personnel of the Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) recently took to the streets in the town’s 4th of July parade, receiving applause and admiration from the crowd, the shining red and white of their impressive emergency service vehicles glistening in the eyes of cheering children. 

Their presence in the parade elicits all these cheers because of the sacrifice and selflessness of their service. And this summer there are a lot of exciting reasons to celebrate our local fire department. 

On Saturday, August 2, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the School Bus Barn on 225 Ridge Road, the NFPD will be hosting a Community Cleanup Event for the residents of the district.

“The nice thing about this cleanup is it’s not just isolated to the town; it’s our whole district,” NFPD Fire Chief Charlie Schmidtmann explained to The Mountain-Ear.  

Wildfire Partners, the Boulder County government wildfire preparation program, is sponsoring four dumpsters for the event: two Green Waste dumpsters for organic waste such as yard trimmings, slash, shrubs, branches, pine needles, and pinecones; and two Trash Dumpsters for bigger yard debris, like tree stumps and logs, and for household trash, even some furniture and scrap metal. 

Tires, electronics, hazardous waste, liquids, and batteries will not be accepted. 

“The intent of this is really to clean up the urban interface, the things outside of the house,” Schmidtmann said. “We’ll even have compost dumpsters to help people clean up some of that random debris around their house.” 

In addition to the NFPD’s collaboration with Wildfire Partners for the dumpsters, the Boulder Valley School District offered the District the use of the School Bus Barn for the event, and Western Disposal is on-call to bring more dumpsters if needed.

Local residents interested in cleaning up the hazardous debris in their yard and needing a place to offload it for free are encouraged to register before the event, to give the firefighters an idea of how many people to expect. The Town’s own cleanup, they remind us, causes a line-up of cars all the way down Ridge Road. 

“The goal of this is to decrease the risk, and I think this is a great opportunity for that,” Schmidtmann said. When asked if the Community Cleanup Event will be an annual event, Schmidtmann answered excitedly, “I hope so! We’ll see how it goes.”   

For more information, and to register, please go to: https://www.nfpd.org/news-and-information.

But that’s not all! Nederland Fire will also participate in the National Night Out with the Boulder County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) on August 5, 2025, from 6 to 9 p.m. in Chipeta Park.

National Night Out is an annual campaign that takes place in thousands of communities across the country, aimed at promoting better relationships between law enforcement and local neighborhoods.

NFPD will be attending the event in one of their service vehicles, prepared to meet with the community and discuss all the facets of their varied operations that ensure our safety. They will also be barbecuing and preparing delicious food to be supplied by BCSO. 

It may be possible that, at the National Night Out, the NFPD could bring one of its newest vehicles, as the District has recently been blessed with the fruits of up to three years of labor, in receiving four new vehicles, two of which are at the Nederland station and nearly ready for deployment. 

Vehicle 5621, the NFPD’s brand new ambulance, has finally arrived! 

Back in September of 2023, the NFPD Board of Directors voted to use their $108,837.15 Emergency Medical and Trauma Services grant for the purchase of a new Braun Liberty Type I Ambulance from Danko Emergency Equipment Company. 

The conditions of the grant specified that: the NFPD purchase one ambulance; that it must be a 4-wheel drive truck chassis with ambulance box; that it include one vehicle data recorder;  and that the vehicle have a built-in SAE J3027-compliant cot retention system and a stair chair. 

The NFPD were required to verify that the equipment is operational, to complete three quarterly grant progress reports and one final report, and to verify that the manufacturer of the ambulance is registered on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s manufacturer’s information database as a “final stage manufacturer,” meaning they perform operations to make an incomplete vehicle complete. 

“The ambulance looks awesome, it drives really nice, it’s got all the safety features. It sure is shiny,” Chief Schmidtmann reported the exciting news to the NFPD Board. 

Captain Conor Moran has been working to ensure that the ambulance is fully loaded with the working equipment and medical emergency provisions required to be ready for service.

Moran spoke to The Mountain-Ear about how the new ambulance will not only provide better service to those needing medical assistance, but will also provide a safer ride for the District’s medical personnel and volunteers.

“All the internal frame is aluminum, so everything you see is connected to the outside. So effectively it works like a roll cage,” Moran said, noting the differences between the new vehicle and the District’s current 26-year-old ambulance, which comes with its own operational intricacies due to its age.

“When working with 20- and 30-year-old trucks, you get used to all the quirks, but then you have to explain those quirks to someone new. But not with this,” Moran said, motioning to the ambulance while wiping down the shiny new interior. “It just does what it’s supposed to.” 

The new ambulance just needs another radio to be installed, some minor tweaks, and a regulatory visit from Boulder County for a final inspection, and it will be ready for deployment.  

Also joining the fleet is Vehicle 5650, the NFPD’s new command vehicle, which is complete and currently in service!

“Two trucks in two days—it’s kind of a miracle,” Schmidtmann joked with the Board, though the arrival of these new vehicles has been a long time coming. 

After some minor adjustments to the graphics on the vehicle, and the construction of a front bumper and of tool holders in the bed, the new command vehicle offers better accessibility and allows the District to provide a greater range of emergency services when out in the field. 

“It has a med kit, cardiac monitor, medications; if somebody is really deep in the back country we have the ability to slide the patient in the back,” Schmidtmann explained. “This vehicle provides us with two uses, as it works as both a command vehicle and an ambulance; it saves us a little money on maintenance and insurance costs.” 

There are more improvements coming to the NFPD soon, including a new Brush Truck, currently out in deployment in Mammoth Lakes, California; and a new Fire Engine, which the District has been anticipating since 2022.

Follow The Mountain-Ear for more updates on the NFPD’s continuous development in serving the community.