EAGLE COUNTY — Tracy LeClair with the Eagle River Fire Protection District recently returned to Colorado after fighting two big wildfires.
“I was in Oklahoma for a fire, and then I went to the Flagstaff, Arizona area for the Tinder Fire,” said LeClair.
He knows it’s only a matter of time before Colorado crews face their own big blazes.
“Fire season is just kicking off in our area,” said LeClair.
Just in time for summer, Eagle River Fire crews are rolling out one of the more state of the art fire stations around.
Station 7 has all the usual places for firefighters to hang out, sleep and workout – but along with a nearly 30-foot tall fire pole – they also have one of the few firefighter slides in the state.
“When they wake up in the middle of the night they have 60 seconds to get out the door and the engine rolling,” said LeClair.
Their doors have been designed to keep big fire trucks from running into them.
“Traditional door goes up, we’ve had it where they have hit a door because it didn’t go up all the way,” said LeClair. "These doors open to the side.”
The building costs about $12 million, but it’s a shared cost with the Avon Police Department that shares the building with firefighters.
“We work closely on all incidents,” said LeClair.
All of the upgrades are designed to save time so firefighters can save lives.
“Not just fires, we have medical calls and we’re moving into swift water season,” said LeClair.