The Cortez Fire Protection District dispatched three firefighters to wildfires north of Grand Junction last week.
The firefighters are on a 21-day dispatch and headed to South Dakota to fight wildfires in the area, Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde said during the district board’s meeting on Wednesday.
“We had three firefighters in our new brush truck go outside of Grand Junction for call-outs,” Vandevoorde said. “They were there for seven days and were getting ready to be released and were asked to go to South Dakota.”
The dispatched firefighters – Lt. Mike Cabell, Mike McCoach and Matt Fudala – were consulted on the extended appointment before it was approved.
“We talked to them and they are doing good,” Vandevoorde said. “They were the last crew to be released, and usually that is a compliment when they keep them that long.”
Cabell and McCoach are certified engine bosses, which allows them to man the brush trucks.
All three dispatched firefighters are traveling to South Dakota to fight a fire that had scorched 1,100 acres of land by Wednesday night.
The board discussed the construction of the new fire department with project manager Kyle Blackmer.
“We have got one slab placed on the south end, we should have structural steal installed on Monday on the south end. So we are going vertical, which is a big step,” Blackmer said. “Things are starting to go the right direction.”
According to Blackmer, the project is slated to be completed in May 2018.
The building is part of the new building’s training area on North Washington Street.
The department has not decided what will be done with the old station. It may be used for storage or sold, according to Vandevoorde.
The board also discussed Vandevoorde’s evaluation, which was based on a variety of areas. The board concluded that he was meeting or exceeding expectations.
Assistant fire chief Shawn Bittle announced that the department will graduate a class at Dolores Station No. 3 on Sept. 30 at 3 p.m.
“The recruit class is back here in Cortez to finish out their last month. They are doing great, their class average is 97 percent,” Bittle said.
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