About RCVFD
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RCVFD Board Meetings (4)
The RCVFD Board of Directors is comprised of community members helping with the business of running our volunteer fire department. They approve budgets, oversee expenditures, fundraise, and represent residents on the third Wednesday of each month. These regular meetings are open to the public, but since the events of 2020 they have been moved from Station 1 to an online Zoom meeting to facilitate social distancing and maintain all attendees' health and safety. If you would like to attend, drop the current Board President a line and he/she will ensure that you receive the connection details.
RCVFD is Donation Based and Tax Exempt (501c3). Any donation you make to RCVFD will be tax exempt and can be deducted.
Donate via the PayPal button above, or donations can also be sent to:
RCVFD - Treasurer
PO Box 2
Bellvue, CO 80512
Questions, contact the Treasurer on the contact page.
Norm Miller was a firefighter and EMT with us for about 20 years, but that doesn't begin to describe how important he was to our department and our community. For many years he maintained the trucks and Station 1 to make sure we would always be ready when the call came in. He was a primary responder for that entire time, participating in every call he could, no matter the hour. His outgoing nature and friendly demeanor, not to mention his iconic and ever-present pipe, was often the first impression that new recruits formed about our department, and really set the tone for open and accepting culture that has pervaded RCVFD. He was always patient and kind, providing help to anyone that needed it.
Despite his major role in our story, we were but a single chapter of his. He served in the US Army, stationed in Germany as a mechanic, and volunteered for the Colorado Ski Patrol. He was a lifelong ham radio operator, a pilot, and part of a barbershop quartet. He rebuilt Porsches and VWs in his home garage after being a mechanic for many years. He even won the first ever race at Continental Divide Raceway in a silver Porsche 356 Speedster. The list goes on and on.
Norm is survived by his wife Joan, daughters Lynn and Diane, and an entire family of heartbroken Rist Canyon Firefighters.
The RCVFD board will be conducting meetings either in person or via Zoom “calls” for the duration of the current pandemic. The decision to move to in person meetings will be determined by a majority vote of the board. If in person meetings take place, we will comply with all Larimer County Health Department Requirements and Recommendations that are in place at the time of the meeting.
TBA
The Board welcomes discussion with RCVFD members. The Public Forum portion of meetings will be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order, meaning the discussion will stay on topic and time for discussion will be limited. Each item of discussion brought up during the open forum will be treated similarly. Members who are unable to attend Board meetings have the option of bringing comments and concerns to their Area Reps. The Area Reps can bring your discussion items to the Board.
Some pictures from the RCVFD Festival 2018 Sept 7-9 . Many thanks to the the people involved to make it happen. It was a huge success
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeId58b09d935c
April 2018 RCVFD Station 1 CO
RCVFD hosted an all-day wildland fire refresher. The photos show us deploying practice shelters, learning new CPR protocols, getting our safety reminder from the chief and Claudia giving us an afternoon 5 min yoga break. Please enjoy the photos!
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeIdf1eb2dfb43
September 22, 2017 Ben Delatour Boy Scout Ranch Red Feather Lakes CO
RCVFD participated as part of a multi-agency task force for a prescribed burn operation at the Boy Scout Ranch. Under leadership of The Nature Conservancy, we were able to introduce a healthy controlled fire of ~300 acres to the ranch. Besides preventing a future high severity burn, the prescribed fire had many additional benefits. These benefits included establishment of diverse wildlife habit, increases forest heath, watershed protection, reduction of invasive species and capacity building for future burns. RCVFD directly benefited by acquiring skills to "fight fire with fire". Along side USFS, Poudre Canyon Fire, LCES, LSCO, CSU, Poudre River Coalition and other agencies and volunteer groups we accomplished an awesome amount of work. Please enjoy the photos!
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeIde40d360f0f
Auto Extrication is a complicated process. A patient or a number of patients are trapped in a car. The dash is smashed in and downward due to the force of the accident. The steering wheel has been forced down onto the legs of the driver so he is trapped also. On top of everything the vehicle is rocking about to fall down a hill. This is auto extrication: a skill we at the fire department hope we never have to use but it is something we practice.....
On September 10 2017, RCVFD was fortunate to participate in this very special training by Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District PCFPD. Before we go on... thank you Poudre Canyon Fire!!!
In the parking lot of the beautiful Shambhala Mountain Center campus, Tony Falbo from Poudre Canyon Fire taught us some of his "jaws of life" skills as well as how to quickly and efficiently work as a team to free auto-accident victim. From stabilizing the vehicle, punching and cutting out the windows, to cutting the posts, lifting off the roof, we used a variety of hydraulically powered tools to pry the vehicle open. Over the course of a day we went through it all and took apart 4 cars in the process.
We appreciate Tony and the rest of the Poudre Canyon crew for putting together an excellent training. Neighboring fire departments training together is one of the many ways we strengthen our mountain communities. Enjoy the photos!
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeIda6bff03c92
More...
Sept 3 was the annual RCVFD festival. We wanted to thank the hundreds of volunteers and participants that made this year's festival a huge success. The gallery of photos are from Vicky Jordan(all the good ones) and a few from Phil Benstein.
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeId1af4a964c8
July 22, 2017 RCVFD responded to an urgent request for mutual aid to help with the Spring Glade Wildfire. The fire was located at Coyote Ridge Nature Reserve in south Fort Collins. We were able to staff a type 6 engine as well as our type 3. Over 15 agencies were present. RCVFD was proud to be part of a strike force and fight the fire alongside our awesome partners from Glacier View VFA, Livermore VFA and Wellington FD. Our team was led by a supervisor from Larimer County Emergency Services. At the time of these photos the fire had burned ~360 acres. Check out some of these great pictures from Eddie Franklin,Katheryn Touran and Erik Williams!
https://rcvfd.org/rcvfd-fundraising/donate-now/content/about-rcvfd#sigFreeId0e631ca449
10 Ways Your Can Help Support RCVFD
- Drop the Chief and email and let us know how we are doing - Contact Us
- Donate to RCVFD Donate Now!
- Help out with the Rist Canyon Mountain Festival -from books to booths and pieces of art to pies...we need your help to pull this off!
- Attend the Annual Meeting hmmmm potluck!
- Support your business with an ad in Ristwatch Contact the RistWatch Editor
- Run for one of the Board of Directors positions (this is an annual position and so much fun) BOD Officers are elected by the General Membership. consist of President, Immediate Past-President, First Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Area Representatives and Newsletter Editor.Contact the BOD President
- Become a responder. See the section Meetings are 2nd Wed each month More information on responding here
- Bake a pie for the responders Wed night meeting.... they love pie
- Purchase a reflective address sign for the driveway to your home. This makes it a lot easier to find you and your neighbors
- Did I mention Donate Now!
In 2011 we suffered the Crystal Fire. This fire, which was man caused, started on Crystal Mountain south west of the Buckhorn. Initially contained to about 20 acres, the Crystal fire was fanned by a sudden nighttime windstorm with winds reaching 70mph or more. The fire grew to over 3000 acres in a matter of minutes and destroyed several homes. Because the wind struck very late at night, it was a critical and life threatening situation. The Crystal fire was the first major fire in the RCVFD area in 30 plus years.
On June 9, 2012, a lightning-sparked fire in the Buckhorn became the wind driven inferno known as the High Park fire. High Park burned over 89,000 acres and destroyed some 254 homes and countless other buildings and took 1 life. The area was evacuated for nearly 21 days. Two years later, RCVFD and our community is recovering – showing a determination and effort that is truly amazing.
September 2013 floods In 2013 the front range of Colorado had an extended upslope storm that dumped 14.6 inches of rain at RCVFD station 1. This storm caused a 500-1000 year flood event that destroyed roads and properties up and down the Colorado front range. Because of High Park, and the expected flooding that comes after a wildland fire, RCVFD and our residents weathered the flood better than most. We had been preparing for flooding from the High Park burn for a year. Still, of the 3 roads in the RCVFD area, only Rist Canyon Road survived and it was damaged. Since then, Rist Canyon, Stove Prairie and the upper Buckhorn roads have been repaired (though the upper Buckhorn is a temporary repair). The lower Buckhorn remains closed. That road will be rebuilt during 2014.
hrough all these events, the men and women of RCVFD and the community we live in rallied and responded. The High Park fire response is a model of response and interagency cooperation. The years of planning and training at RCVFD, and work in our community, paid off during High Park. While it was an event without parallel, it was a model of human resources. After High Park, RCVFD Chief Robert Gann was awarded the first ever Wildland Safety Exemplary Service Award by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) at the 2013 Backyards and Beyond conference.