{"id":26189,"date":"2024-08-09T20:58:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T20:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-volunteer-fire-rescue-needs-volunteers\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:34:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:34:49","slug":"dolores-volunteer-fire-rescue-needs-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-volunteer-fire-rescue-needs-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolores Volunteer Fire & Rescue needs volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dolores
Dolores Fire and Rescue (Courtesy Kim Jones)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Dolores Fire Protection District relies on volunteers to respond to calls across the 366 square miles it serves, and there\u2019s no cap on the number of volunteers they\u2019ll accept.<\/p>\n

The district primarily recruits people through word of mouth.<\/p>\n

When public relations specialist Tiffany Cross joined the team, she bolstered its online ads, mostly on Facebook, and even ran one on television.<\/p>\n

\"A
A \u201cVolunteers Wanted\u201d sign at Dolores Fire Protection District. (Courtesy Kim Jones)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cI don\u2019t think we had a single person come out of that,\u201d Cross said.<\/p>\n

Right now, there\u2019s about 20 staff total. Fourteen are full-time and the rest serve part-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a few times that we\u2019ve had the pagers go off, and we\u2019ve had nobody available to respond, and that\u2019s a scary thought,\u201d said District Deputy Fire Chief Kim Jones.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if it was you and your family and you called 911 and there\u2019s nobody to come?\u201d<\/p>\n

To help solve the recruitment problem, the fire district\u2019s board has talked about switching from volunteer to salary, a move they cannot afford right now, Jones said.<\/p>\n

The switch would take years and copious amounts of research. Plus, the district doesn\u2019t have high enough call volumes \u2013 yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe, personally, that it\u2019s going to have to happen,\u201d said Jones. \u201cIt\u2019s inevitable at some point. If the call volume keeps climbing, it\u2019s just going to be too much for volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n

From March to May this year, DFPD responded to 111 calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of different things to cover: We cover motor vehicle accidents, medical calls, we help with search and rescue if needed. We do all the things,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

The problem they\u2019re running into stems from it being volunteer only. DFPD\u2019s members work other paid jobs during the day, so when people call the fire department, the volunteers are at work.<\/p>\n

Plus, job opportunities in Dolores are limited, so most work out of town, Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if their employers were to allow them to run on calls, they\u2019re so far away working elsewhere that they can\u2019t exactly make it to the calls,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Ideally, DFPD would start by bringing on one or two certified, Fire 1 personnel to work the day shift \u2013 8 to 5 p.m., or 8 to 8 p.m. \u2013 and have volunteers fill in the gaps, Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat way it\u2019s guaranteed we\u2019d have someone here to respond,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jones emphasized that a lot of people can\u2019t afford to work and not get paid, and a lot of them already juggle more than one job.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a crisis that is hitting all over the United States, in many, many volunteer and paid departments,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Nationwide, in 2019, 30% of Americans volunteered with an organization; in 2021, the number dropped to 23.2%, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps.<\/p>\n

Colorado saw the largest decline \u2013 16% \u2013 in volunteerism of any state, having dropped from 42.2% in 2019 to 26.2% in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cVolunteering full time \u2013 it\u2019s a lot,\u201d said Jones. \u201cWe have the same trainings and the same qualifications that all the other departments, even the paid departments have to have, only we are doing it on our voluntary time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Full-time firefighters \u2013 volunteer or otherwise \u2013 must be certified as Firefighter 1 and Emergency Medical Responder. The Montezuma County Chiefs Association typically has an annual class so folks can be Firefighter 1 certified for free.<\/p>\n

Last year, the association didn\u2019t have the class because not enough people signed up for it, Jones said.<\/p>\n

Hence, the desire to switch from volunteer to paid, a move that requires a lot of time and money: It wouldn\u2019t happen overnight, Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to take years of researching and finding the best way to do it,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not entirely inconceivable.<\/p>\n

In the fall 2008, Cortez Fire Protection District hired its first paid fire chief, Don Eberly. Shortly after, it hired its first part-time paid firefighters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started out in the daytime, 7 to 6 or 8 to 5, whatever we could do because the other three they hired with me also had full-time jobs. This was our part-time gig, and we would come in as much as we could to help out,\u201d said Cory Elliott, battalion chief of operations at CFPD and one of its first part-time hires.<\/p>\n

With the change came pushback.<\/p>\n

Elliott called it \u201cgrowing pains\u201d and attributed the community\u2019s grievances to the district having been volunteer for so long, ever since it became a formal fire department in 1911.<\/p>\n

The pushback primarily came from people who didn\u2019t think CFPD needed full-time staff. But as the area \u2013 and call volumes \u2013 grew, the move became necessary, Elliott said.<\/p>\n

Last year, CFPD made 3,743 runs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way that a strictly volunteer organization could thrive, especially with that being volunteer. People have to leave home and work four or five or six times a day,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cIt\u2019s not feasible anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as the area continues to grow, it\u2019s something Dolores Fire Protection District is discussing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the growing pains,\u201d said Elliott. \u201cVolunteerism \u2013 it\u2019s great. When I first started in 2000 (at Lewis Arriola) it was a different environment and the call volume wasn\u2019t anywhere near what it is now. \u2026 Over time, with the population growing and also aging, call volumes have increased drastically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paid or not, Jones and the rest of DFPD are extremely grateful for the volunteers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will never stop the volunteerism. That is, like I said, what made this fire department here. Those people that\u2019ve built that take a lot of pride in what they\u2019ve done,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes from the heart for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re interested in volunteering, call (970) 882-4096 or visit the station or its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s opportunities for full- or part-time workers, as well as auxiliary, which does things like arranges meals for the firefighters or babysits.<\/p>\n