Div Fire P&C

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kenisned

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Hey alll, moved here a few years ago. I was a 20+ year firefighter and am curious as to how the wildland response is organized here in CO.

I have all the local FD’s programmed here in Arapahoe (South Metro by me)..

How do I listen to the CO DIv of Fire Prevention and Control wildland assets? Don’t see them referenced in the database.

Thanks
 

Spitfire8520

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DFPC inherited all the Colorado State Forest Service talkgroups when they took over all the wildfire responsibilities from them. They are not used often, so it has been a long and slow process to identify them. They also maintain some VHF simplex frequencies, but those ones are pretty hard to hear and identify.

As for wildland response, it depends on where the incident occurs. Federal land usually gets a federal response and local areas get local response. Large local incidents typically gets called into the Interagency Dispatch Center that covers the area so that they can tap into federal resources. If the incident gets big enough, an IMT can be ordered and will takeover the incident from the local command.

DPFC largely plays a support role at incidents if they get big enough. They have some engines and crews, but most of their contributions to incidents are administrative support and air resources controlled by the state.
 

Spitfire8520

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Local FDs will be the most active in the initial attack phase, which is pretty much the first day of the incident. Mutual aid channels (MAC) and other mutual aid frequencies (Simplex, STAC, 8CALL/TAC, VFIRE, etc) will also be used if the incident requires significant mutual aid resources.

If air resources get involved, those might be heard on the VFIRE or one of the NIFC A/G frequencies.

After initial attack, the incident will typically move to simplex frequencies. Taking a look at the Cold Springs Fire can give you an idea of how communications changes during a large incident.
 

SouthMetroFirePIO

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Tagging on to the great information that Spitfire8520 provided, there are strike teams / task forces that get requested a few times annually for wildland I/A. They are organized under the Denver Metro Fire Chief's group and considered a 12 hour, free of charge, mutual aid resource. They usually respond within Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and Jefferson counties but have traveled beyond the metro counties as needed. That can get complicated with the 12 hour time frame when travel takes a while.

The 7 teams include Denver (Denver Fire Department), Southeast (Arapahoe County), Douglas/Elbert, West (metro JeffCo FD's), Boulder (Boulder Co FD's), North (Adams County FD's) and Foothills (rural JeffCo FD's)

Denver and North will provide a Type 1 or Type 2 Engine Strike Team only.

The others will provide Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 6 Strike Teams or Taskforces depending on need and availability.

Generally they'll use a 8 Tac D channel for travel once they assemble at a designated rendezvous location.
 

kenisned

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Thanks for that... great information.

I was a District Warden back in New Jersey for the State Forest Fire Service in Northwestern New Jersey for 20 years.

Very different there, where the state was the definitive Forest Fire response agency (aircraft, 100+ Type 6 and 3, as well as tenders, dozer/plows.. etc).

The state forest fire service also assembled and sent out to western assignments: Type 2A handcrews, single resources (engines, bosses, etc). So, I fought fire in Idaho, MT, UT, OR..etc.

The FD's were mostly volunteer and based on city or townships, not counties. They also didn't want to handle the long duration fires.

It was also pretty easy to monitor because you had one definitive agency handling all responses (the local FD's also responded but would usually do IA and then leave).

I miss it!
 
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