Flyer

It is with great pleasure that the Hanover Fire Protection District announce the acquisition of 13325 Old Pueblo Road, Fire Station 2. This station is home to 15 of the 26 current member of the department. Station 2’s location is considered to be the middle of the district. The Hanover Fire Protection District encompasses about 310 Square miles in El Paso County and provides services to another 10 square miles in Pueblo County to the Midway Ranches Fire Protection District on a contracted service agreement. This property was under a long term lease with the Baker family. The Hanover Fire Protection District has been working on a grant to build a modern fire station on this property over the last year. One of the requirements of the grant is the District must own the land. When the Baker family learned of this requirement they terminated the lease early and transferred ownership of the land to the district. Their generous gift has opened the door for the Fire District to move forward with the grant request. The Hanover Fire Protection District would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Baker family for their continued and generous support.

County fire officials and representatives of the local building industry butted heads Tuesday over a fire code requirement that structures larger than 6,000 square feet be built with an automatic sprinkler system.

Caught in the crossfire is the El Paso County board of commissioners, which is being asked to approve the 2009 International Fire Code, as well as several amendments to better address local needs.

What baffled some fire officials who attended a county commission work session Tuesday is that the board, without fanfare, approved the 6,000-square-foot requirement six years ago when it OK’d the 2003 International Fire Code.

“There are no requirements in here that have not been in place since 2006,” said Falcon Fire Chief Trent Harwig.

But building industry representatives said they had no idea the commission was voting on the regulation in 2006, and now want a voice.

“It was snuck under the radar; nobody knew about this and we got hit with this,” said homebuilder Barbara Keller, who said it would cost a homeowner $30,000 to install a sprinkler system in a 13,000-square-foot house. “It’s overreaching, and there should have been a discussion of this … before it was rammed down our throats.”

The 2003 and 2009 International Fire Codes set a 12,000-square-foot minimum for sprinkler systems, but Harwig and officials from the other eight fire districts outside Colorado Springs city limits say the more stringent local regulation is needed in rural areas because they have fewer fire stations, not as much equipment or manpower, and a greater response time than urban areas. In many cases, there are no hydrants for miles around.

“It really comes down to one thing: our ability to fight a fire,” Harwig said. “Our ability is not the same as the city. We don’t have 21 stations. The code should be amended to meet our ability.”

Keller and Kyle Campbell, past president of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs, told commissioners that better building materials and construction techniques, smoke detectors, the use of firewalls and mitigation steps such as clear-cutting around structures have lessened the need for sprinkler systems. Campbell also suggested that the sprinkler system requirement could be a barrier to business development.

But Harwig said the requirements have not dampened development.

“Look at the rapid growth in Falcon the last five, six years,” he said. “Our amendment hasn’t hurt that.”

It’s not just fire officials who back the 2009 code and the amendments, most of which are minor. The boards of each district OK’d them, as did the town council in Palmer Lake.

“So essentially, 47 elected directors have already approved the code,” Harwig said.

But county commissioners must approve the code and amendments before the fire districts can implement them, and they made it clear Tuesday that they’re not ready until all parties talk about the issue.

“The fact is, in 2006, there was not a discussion,” said commission chairwoman Amy Lathen said. “We’ve been asked to allow the community to have a discussion, and I believe it is our obligation to foster the discussion.”

And so, it will be. Regional Building Official Henry Yankowski, who spoke against the need for the local amendment, offered to facilitate a meeting between fire officials and building industry representatives.

Before Tuesday’s work session ended, there was an indication they might reach agreement. Keller, for example, suggested that more people would be willing to support the regulation if the 6,000-square-foot rule excludes garages and covered patios, which are now factored into the structure size and can easily push a modest-sized house into sprinkler-system territory.

“I would entertain the thought, but they’ll have to give us something at the same time,” said Curtis Kauffman, fire marshal for Tri-Lakes/Monument Fire Protection District.

Read more: http://www.gazette.com/articles/fire-131515-county-code.html#ixzz1kD0UzMkB

A dairy farmer was left scrambling to find a place to sleep and a means to care for his numerous farm animals after he returned home to find his house destroyed by a fast-moving fire Sunday night.

“I own one set of clothes,” said Kurtis Ketchum, the homeowner, on Monday. “That’s what I own.”

One dog was possibly killed in the blaze, which reduced the house to a few charred support beams. Investigators believe an electrical issue in the garage might have caused the fire, though the blaze remains under investigation, according to Fire Chief Carl Tatum of the Hanover Fire Protection District.

Ketchum, who moved into the house in 2003, said he was in Fountain visiting a friend when the fire sparked. As such, a neighbor returning from a softball game ended up being the first person to notice flames shooting out of the garage.

“It wasn’t long before everything was up in flames,” said Eric Norman, 21, who called 911. “It moved quick.”

One dog living at the house, a border collie, fled to a neighbor’s house. His 10-year-old son’s Chihuahua, though, has been missing since the blaze.

No other animals or people were injured in the blaze.

The two-story house, at 8790 Birdsall Road, sits about 1 mile east of Interstate 25 in a community of widely spaced ranchettes, about 3 miles south of Fountain. It also had a walk-out basement.

Ketchum said the house was the centerpiece of a small farm, complete with several chicken coops and two dairy cows to make cheese. He was expecting to receive six more cows this week, though that might change.

Ketchum said neighbors have been helping to feed his animals and provide shelter. He has tentatively arranged for a friend to leave a travel trailer at farm so he can still stay there to tend to his animals.

“There’s nothing I can do now except ride it out, so that’s what I’m going to do,” Ketchum said.

The Hanover Fire Protection District sent about 15 firefighters in two engines, a brush truck and three water-laden tenders to fight the fire. The Fountain Fire Department sent an engine and six firefighters.

Firefighters have saved a horse who got stuck in the mud for more than 5 hours at a ranch in Hanover Friday.

Sky, a 2,100 pound Suffolk Punch draft horse, was stuck up to its neck in mud formed by a thawing holding pond on the property.

Chief Carl Tatum with the Hanover Fire Protection District says the mud was like a gooey glue, sucking in the horse.

Tatum and crew members from the Hanover and Fountain fire departments used a harness made of firehoses and a heavy duty tow-truck to pull Sky to safety.

He was hungry, dirty and a little dehydrated, but is otherwise in good health once the ordeal ended.

Owner Carl Evans says he was concerned at first that Sky may have been injured during the rescue, but was relieved to hear that he came out of it safely.

Sky and his half brother Sage are a popular pair in the Hanover area, regularly making appearances at parades and local elementary schools.

The rescue took place along Old Pueblo Road, about four miles south of Fountain.