Elk Creek Fire Protection District Strategic Plan

I am excited to present you with a new strategic plan for the Fire Protection District. Developed through extensive collaboration and informed by staff and community feedback, this plan represents our unwavering commitment to serving and protecting our community. 

It is important to keep in mind that a strategic plan is a living, breathing document. It will guide our actions, but we will continue checking and modifying our course along the way, pivoting to match inevitable or unforeseen changes in areas such as fire industry developments and introduction of modern technologies.

We serve and protect a mountain community that is growing.

We serve and protect a mountain community that is growing. We collaborate closely and daily with our partners at Inter-Canyon and North Fork Fire Districts. As this growth occurs, it is important that the fire protection district’s capabilities match that growth, so we can continue the quality emergency response this community has come to know and expect. This is a comprehensive strategic plan that recognizes the unique attributes and needs of a district of our size and purpose.

We have made considerable progress in providing our community with the best services possible within our limited resources. We have done this not only through our own efforts but also through our relationships with our neighboring districts, agency partners and community members including the utilization of Intergovernmental Agreements.

It is helpful to look at our history and where we came from as an organization and our proud achievements. We have made considerable progress in providing our community with the best services possible within our limited resources. We have done this not only through our own efforts but also through our relationships with our neighboring districts, agency partners and community members including the utilization of Intergovernmental Agreements. Together, we now have several key resources including:

This initial strategic plan identifies and proposes high-level goals, and each goal will require additional planning and substantial investment to properly and holistically address our organization’s ability to meet community needs.

This initial strategic plan proposes and identifies high-level goals. Each goal will require substantial investment and additional planning to properly and holistically address our organization’s ability to meet community needs.

This planning effort does not yet provide us with detailed information as to direct our organization in the short term. We will continue to rely on our internal experts and division leads to provide our short-term goals and inform our upcoming budget decisions. These near term discussions will be directed by the key goals which we have identified

This plan was developed collaboratively with community, staff, and volunteer firefighter participation, and I am truly thankful for their dedication and input. To be successful, we must all continue to work together.

"In 1948, a volunteer bucket brigade lost the Will o' the Wisp restaurant down Highway 285 to fire. That spurred a group of determined men of the area to found the Elk Creek Fire [Department]. The same year, two of them, Rudy and Harlan Long, sons of pioneer Charles Long and partners in Long Brothers Garage at today's Kings Valley exit, provided the land for $10. Volunteers built the white firehouse with its two wide doors on the hill across the street, a landmark for everyone leaving town for an outing in the mountains.

There was also the question of getting medical help for the ill, or, in a more severe case, getting a sick person to a hospital in time for help. In 1950, May and Rudolf Long were confronted with that problem, when there was no ambulance to transport their ill mothers to a hospital, where they would receive needed care. As true pioneers, they started their own service and soon became known as the Mr. and Mrs. Red Cross of the Mountains. For many years, their ambulance service would be the only one between Denver and Salida. When, in 1963, a new house for the Elk Creek Fire Station #1 was built near Richmond Hill, the Longs bought back the original fire house for $10 and out of it began to conduct their ambulance services. They retired from ambulance service in 1978.

In 1999, the Elk Creek Fire Station #1 fire house was declared eligible to be listed in the National Register for Historic Places. It was designated a Jefferson County Historic Landmark in 2004.”

Sadly, that station was destroyed by an out-of-control semi-tractor trailer in 2007.

Source:  https://historicjeffco.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2007histjeffco.pdf 

Completely volunteer and dependent on donations in the beginning, and using WW II surplus equipment, the Department provided a much-needed service to the community. Elk Creek Fire Department later became Elk Creek Fire Protection District, funded by property taxes that offered critical income stability to better serve a growing district.

In the last 74 years the call volume has increased to approximately 1,325 calls per year. The department now has career, full-time firefighters that work 48 hour shifts as well as a highly trained and dedicated volunteer staff. The department has state-of-the-art firefighting and EMS equipment as well as a love of service to our mountain community.

Additionally, the department works and trains closely with Inter-Canyon and North Fork Fire Protection Districts, sharing many programs. Elk Creek participated in a pre- consolidation study with Inter-Canyon and North Fork Fire Protection Districts to evaluate the need for combining efforts. This study recommended consolidation due to staffing, recruitment, training, and infrastructure needs of all three departments. Ultimately, the 2023 ballot measure was narrowly defeated.

This strategic plan is a living document that will be continually worked on to make our vision a reality. As we move forward, you can expect:

• Frequent updates on the execution of goals outlined within the plan.

• A public-facing platform to provide updates and more in depth information to interested members of the community.

• Future planning efforts reflective of our existing relationships with neighboring districts and agency partners.

The development of this plan, at the behest of the District Board of Directors, began with a consultation between the department and an independent consultant who specializes in public safety strategic planning.

An internal staff survey was distributed to full-time staff, volunteers, and Fire District board members. This survey asked staff to:

• Review the current mission statement and department values for present and future relevancy.

• Provide perspectives by completing a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis of the organization.

• Identify the top three issues that the department needs to address during the next five years.

This survey was completed during the months of February and March 2024 by 45 respondents. The survey and responses can be found in the PDF version of the strategic plan (link in menu.)

On May 1st, five internal focus groups were conducted. Focus groups were 5-7 people in several functional areas who met with the consultant to gather different perspectives and input on current and future issues and to make recommendations on improving the agency’s ability to provide the highest level of service to the community. The focus groups were members of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS), staff, firefighters, wildland team, administration, and volunteers.

The focus groups' summary of issues is in the PDF version of the strategic plan (link in menu).

On June 20th, a workshop was conducted with department staff. The staff reviewed and updated the mission statement. The values and value statements were reviewed and remain unchanged as they continue to reflect the core values of the department.

The workshop attendees proposed a bold new vision for the District. The vision statement was created by brainstorming concepts and forming a clear image of what the Department intends to be. It will guide the agency moving forward, including working with our partner agencies and the community.

The attendees then reviewed the three Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analyses that were done previously. The focus of the review was on the weaknesses identified in the internal survey, community survey, community forum, and focus groups.

There were consistent areas of opportunity listed in each assessment that were identified by the attendees. Those included staffing, communication, training, risk reduction, facilities, equipment, recruitment, retention, and volunteers.

The SWOT review led to the identification of the most important issues to address over the next five years by the group.

From those issues, goals and strategies were established. The group identified the expected outcomes should the department be successful in achieving each goal.

The service gaps identified in the data gathering process were discussed during the workshop during the SWOT reviews. The intention of the goals and strategies is to bridge as many gaps as practical while at the same time focusing on priorities and goal achievement. Those gaps, considered weaknesses in the SWOT analyses, and related issues to reduce the gap, are contained in the PDF version of the strategic plan (link in menu).

Our mission statement describes our purpose and how we serve our community and our members. Our mission is:

Our vision describes our future as we achieve our goals and create a better future:

Our values guide our decision-making and create the standard of what we represent.  Our core values are: