South Metro Fire Rescue

South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR) is a fire protection district which provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the municipalities of Bow Mar, Castle Pines, Centennial, Cherry Hills Village, Columbine Valley, Foxfield, Greenwood Village, Littleton, Lone Tree, Parker, portions of Aurora and Lakewood, and unincorporated portions of Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties in Colorado. The area South Metro serves is 287 square miles (740 square kilometers) in size with a population of more than 540,000.[1][4][5]

South Metro Fire Rescue

Operational area
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Counties	Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties
Agency overview[1]
Annual calls	43,026 (2019)[2]
Employees	725 (2020)[3]
Annual budget	$148,820,106 (2020)[3]
Staffing	Career
Fire chief	Bob Baker
EMS level	ALS
IAFF	2086
Facilities and equipment[1]
Battalions	5
Stations	29
Engines	22
Quints	5 - Towers 1 - Ladder
Rescues	1
Ambulances	19
Tenders	6
HAZMAT	2
Airport crash	3
Wildland	3 - Type 3 11 - Type 6
Rescue boats	2
Website
Official website
IAFF website

South Metro Fire Rescue is an internationally accredited agency with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) and holds an Insurance Services Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification Class 1 rating.[6] The district operates teams specializing in aircraft rescue and firefighting, bike medics, dive rescue, hazardous materials, incident management team, SWAT medic, technical rescue, urban search and rescue, and wildland firefighting.[1]

The district is a product of decades of consolidation between area fire departments since the 1980s including Castle Pines Fire Department, Castlewood Fire Protection District, Cherry Hills Fire Protection District, Cunningham Fire Protection District, Littleton Fire Rescue, Louviers Fire Protection District, North Douglas County Fire Protection District, and Parker Fire Protection District.[7][8]

History

The origins of the South Metro Fire Rescue name comes from Castlewood Fire Protection District which had petitioned to change its name to South Metro Fire Rescue on December 31, 1998. Prior to South Metro Fire Rescue, Castlewood Fire Protection District began the trend of consolidating with neighboring departments with Castle Pines Fire Department and North Douglas County Fire Protection District in 1986, and Cherry Hills Fire Protection District in 1989.[7]

In 1999, Robert Rinne assumed the fire chief position,[9] and Louviers Fire Protection District agreed to merge with South Metro Fire Rescue effective January 1, 2000.[4]

On January 19, 2006, South Metro Fire Rescue established the Metropolitan Area Communications Center (MetCom) to provide dispatching service for the district.[4] In March 2006, the district achieved international accreditation from the CFAI, a distinction held by only three other agencies in the state at the time.[10]

In April 2007, a report was provided to the district by Emergency Services Consulting Inc. noting a consistent lack of trust between personnel and the fire chief's office and suggested a change in leadership. An example cited by the report included questioning financial decisions made in purchasing four firetrucks whereas the apparatus committee suggested only purchasing one. By June, four members of South Metro Fire Rescue's leadership, including Chief Robert Rinne, had stepped down and Fire Marshall Mike Dell'Orfano assumed the position of acting chief.[9][11] In October 2007, Parker Fire Protection District Chief Dan Qualman assumed the role of interim chief of South Metro Fire Rescue as a study began on consolidating operations with Parker Fire Protection District.[12] The study was completed in March 2008 and found that a consolidation of departments would result in tax savings and better services.[13][14] The two districts voted to consolidate on April 24, 2008 and began working together on May 1, 2008 as a single authority governed by the two boards of directors, the largest merger between two entities in Colorado at the time.[13][15] On January 5, 2016, Parker Fire Protection District and South Metro Fire Rescue merged into a single district.[16]

In January 2015, Chief Dan Qualman retired and Bob Baker assumed the position of fire chief for the district.[17]

In November 2017, South Metro Fire Rescue and Cunningham Fire Protection District agreed to form a new joint fire authority to join the two districts together effective January 1, 2018.[4][18] On January 1, 2019, South Metro's authority was expanded to include areas of the Highlands Ranch Metropolitan District, Littleton Fire Protection District, and City of Littleton that were previously covered by Littleton Fire Rescue, a department with history that dates back to 1890. As a result of the expansion, South Metro became the second largest fire district in Colorado.[4][8][19] The authority was dissolved in May 2020 after redistricting of the board of directors and subsequent election allowed for voter representation from the newly added areas.[20]

On January 1, 2018, South Metro received an ISO Class 1 rating after previously holding a Class 3 rating, and is notable for being the first agency in the United States to achieve a Class 1 rating in areas without a fire hydrant that would require water tenders to respond.[6][21]

In March 2020, South Metro ordered twelve of its members to self-isolate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22]

Stations and apparatus

Station [23]	Location [23]	Apparatus [24]	Notes
11	2255 W Berry Ave, Littleton	Engine 11 Medic 11
12	6529 S Broadway, Littleton	Battalion 2 Ladder 12 Medic 12 Rehab 12
13	6290 W Coal Mine Ave, Columbine	Engine 13 Medic 13
14	6600 S Colorado Blvd, Centennial	Engine 14
15	2702 E Dry Creek Rd, Centennial	Engine 15 Medic 15
16	8119 Blakeland Dr, Douglas County	Battalion Chief 1 Engine 16 Medic 16 Dive 16
17	9554 S University Blvd, Highlands Ranch	Engine 17 Medic 17 Brush 17 Decon 17
18	401 Timbervale Trail, Highlands Ranch	Safety 18 Tower 18 Medic 18 Brush 18 Wildland Utility 18
19	8490 Trailmark Pkwy, Littleton	Engine 19 Brush 19
20	1801 Wildcat Reserve Pkwy, Highlands Ranch	Engine 20 Brush Engine 20	Under construction, Spring 2021
21	2250 S Emporia St, Arapahoe County	Engine 21 Medic 21 Medic 211 Brush 21
22	16758 E Smoky Hill Rd, Centennial	Battalion Chief 5 Engine 22 Brush 22 Fan 3
23	5405 S Riviera Way, Centennial	Engine 23 Medic 23
31	5901 S Havana St, Greenwood Village	Engine 31 Medic 31 Dive 31 Rescue Boat 31
32	5945 S Quebec St, Centennial	Battalion Chief 3 Tower 32 Medic 32 Command 3
33	7281 E Dry Creek Rd, Centennial	Engine 33 Brush 33
34	8871 Maximus Dr, Lone Tree	District Chief 1 Med 1 Tower 34 Medic 34 Rescue 34 Tender 34
35	12080 E Briarwood Ave, Dove Valley	Safety 35 Tower 35 Red 1 Red 2
36	421 E Castle Pines Pkwy, Castle Pines	Engine 36 Medic 36 Brush 36
37	5701 S University Blvd, Greenwood Village	Medic 37 ARM 37
38	2460 E Quincy Ave, Cherry Hills Village	Engine 38 Hazmat 38
39	475 W Happy Canyon Rd, The Village at Castle Pines	Engine 39 Brush Engine 39 Tender 39
40	10297 N Chatfield Dr, Douglas County	Engine 40 Brush Engine 40 Tender 40
41	10795 S Pine Dr, Parker	Battalion Chief 4 Engine 41 Medic 41 Brush Engine 41 Tender 41 Wildland Utility 41
42	7320 S Parker Rd, Foxfield	Engine 42 Medic 42 Brush 42
43	8165 N Pinery Pkwy, The Pinery	Engine 43 Brush 43
44	12625 E Lincoln Ave, Meridian	Engine 44 Medic 44 Red 3
45	16801 Northgate Dr, Stonegate	Special Ops 10 Tower 45 Collapse 45 Tender 45
46	19310 Stroh Rd, Parker	Engine 46 Medic 46 Brush 46 Tender 46 Tracked Rescue Vehicle 46
47	11685 Tomahawk Rd, Douglas County	Engine 47 Brush 47
HQ	9195 E Mineral Ave, Centennial	IDT 1 IDT 2 IDT 3 IDT 4

Notable incidents

• On May 7, 2019, the STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting occurred which resulted in one death and eight injuries. South Metro Fire Rescue responded to the call as a large mass casualty incident with more than 150 personnel including mutual aid from neighboring agencies and three medical helicopters.[25]

References

1. "2019 South Metro Fact Sheet" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
2. "2019 Annual Response Report" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
3. "2020 Budget" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
4. "Who We Are" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
5. "District Facts, Information, & Plans". South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
6. "Accreditation and ISO Rating". South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
7. "South Metro Fire Rescue Authority Standards of Cover" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
8. Costello, Tom; Hurst, Eric (2018-12-31). Littleton Firefighting - A New Era (Videotape). YouTube. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
9. Thompson, Stephanie (2007-05-03). "Fire chief retires after two decades of service". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
10. Jones, Peter (2006-03-23). "South Metro Fire receives international accreditation". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
11. Nicholson, Kieran (2007-06-09). "Exodus at South Metro Fire Rescue". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
12. Wiebold, Terri (2007-11-01). "Changes at South Metro Fire Rescue". The Connection. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
13. Nicholson, Kieran (2008-04-24). "Southern fire districts join forces". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
14. Wiebold, Terri (2008-04-01). "Consolidation Study Complete South Metro Fire Rescue and Parker Fire Look to Merge". The Connection. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
15. Michlewicz, Chris (2008-05-01). "Parker fire, South Metro finalize plan to merge". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
16. "Amended 2016 Budget" (PDF). South Metro Fire Rescue. 2016-01-25. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
17. Woullard, Clayton (2014-08-05). "South Metro Fire Rescue Authority chief steps down after 28 years". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
18. Eckmann, Kristin (2017-11-17). "South Metro Fire Rescue and Cunningham Fire Protection District Merge" (Press release). Centennial, Colorado: South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
19. Morfitt, Karen (2019-01-01). "Littleton Fire Department Joins Forces With South Metro Fire Rescue". CBS Denver. Littleton, Colorado. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
20. Gilbert, David (2020-05-10). "South Metro Fire now overseen by elected board". Colorado Community Media. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
21. "Fireline Special Edition 2018". Fireline. Vol. 18. Centennial, Colorado: South Metro Fire Rescue. 2018. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
22. "South Metro Fire orders 12 firefighters to self-isolate". Colorado Community Media. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
23. "Fire Stations". South Metro Fire Rescue. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
24. "Stations & Units". SmugMug. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
25. Hurst, Eric; Wist, Connor (2019-05-08). STEM School Shooting - Vlog 15 (Videotape). YouTube. Retrieved 2020-07-26.

External links

• Official website
• IAFF website