Florence Fire Protection District sends cease and desist to volunteer department

FLORENCE — The Florence Fire Protection District sent a cease and desist letter to the Florence Volunteer Fire Department on Nov. 12, saying the volunteer department can no longer use the district’s facilities due to “potential legal issues.”

The Florence Volunteer Fire Department was established in 1890 and is one of the oldest volunteer departments in Colorado. At the request of volunteers, the Fire Protection District was established in 1953, which includes three fire stations in Florence, Penrose and Rockvale.

The November cease-and-desist letter, sent by attorney Michelle Ferguson, who represents the fire district, said volunteers from the Florence Volunteer Fire Department must vacate station one and remove all their equipment by Dec. 31. The letter said the volunteer department is misrepresenting its affiliation with the district by using the district’s address and phone number in state records. The document said that the two entities must have a clear and formal separation.

The Florence Volunteer Fire Department shares Station One on Main Street with the fire district, although the district owns the building. News5 spoke with a district EMS employee who said he is concerned about the impact on the community if volunteer firefighters can no longer respond to calls. The employee said the two entities have always worked alongside each other to respond to calls, regardless of affiliation.

The employee, who did not want to speak on camera for fear of losing his job, said forcing the volunteer department to remove its items would leave the fire protection district without things like tables, kitchen utensils and exercise equipment. The employee said the Florence Fire Protection District will likely have to use taxpayer money to replace essential items.

A former volunteer firefighter’s husband said getting rid of the volunteer department means getting rid of its history. She said volunteers from the Florence Volunteer Fire Department respond to fire calls outside of normal business hours, such as weekends and holidays.

Florence Station One Fire Chief Bill Ritter said the district has dozens of volunteers who will continue to serve the area, but volunteers from the Florence Volunteer Fire Department must stop responding to calls.

News5 reached out to the law firm representing the fire district for an on-camera interview to talk about the decision. The law firm declined our request and sent a statement on behalf of the Florence Fire Protection District Board of Directors late Friday. The statement reads in part:

About ten years ago, the Fire District and the separate non-profit corporations began discussing the need to clarify the roles they each played in providing emergency services to our communities. Finally, the Fire District has determined that it is in the best interest of our communities for the Fire District to provide all firefighting and emergency medical services through one unified District-led volunteer program. There are many reasons why this provides better protection for the District and the citizens we serve, as well as the volunteers who provide such emergency services. Our communities agreed with this approach and voted to fund the Fire District to provide emergency medical services in November 2021.

As the non-profit corporation continued to make statements regarding their role in the District’s operations, the Board felt it had no choice but to formally request the non-profit corporation to leave the Fire District facility and require them to cease involvement in activities or making statements that confuse our communities into believing they are made or carried out by the Fire District. As a Council we believe in transparency with the communities we serve and we could not in good conscience allow this situation to continue.

Florence Fire Protection District Board of Directors

The next Florence Fire Protection District board meeting will be held on December 3rd at 7pm at Florence Fire Station 1 at 300 West Main Street in Florence.

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