Welcome to my Webpage for the Elk Creek Fire Protection District Community…
- The skilled firefighter/EMT personnel who are committed to serving our community,
- A rewarding workplace for our firefighter/EMT professionals, both volunteer and paid, and
- A sound, well-managed financial position made possible only by sustained community engagement.
Our Challenge – Experience has shown that Elk Creek FPD will need to continue its current, aggressive program for recruitment of firefighter/EMT personnel as emergency calls continue to increase slightly with time and as local wildfire hazards continue to be problematic.
Solution-oriented Policies – Only through a clear understanding of the mission-critical needs of the fire district, drawn from the day-to-day operational experience of the firefighter/EMT in the field, coupled to a committed, community-oriented management practice by senior leadership at the fire district will all residents be able to thrive. That is why I continue to advocate that fire district leadership focus on identified needs that are mission-critical including: Skilled volunteer and paid personnel; essential capital equipment, facilities, and new construction only when the need is demonstrated; and service programs that are sustainably supported by the community.
ELK CREEK FPD INFORMATION
ELK CREEK FPD “UNIFICATION” ANNOUNCEMENT: As many of you known, late in 2024 the fire chiefs of the Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon, and North Fork FPDs attempted to push through their plan for “Unification”—a plan that not only subverts the will of the Elk Creek FPD electorate but completely undermines the citizens’ rights to due process of law—all this, while purporting to lawfully use certain procedures of the Title 32 Special District Act, so-called “inclusion” / “exclusion” / “dissolution”.
The plan, developed during behind-the-scenes meetings and without the knowledge, consent, or inputs of the citizens, taxpayers, and other affected stakeholders–tself unlawful–attempts to consolidate / merge the three fire districts without a vote of the electorate. The question is, “Can the Fire Chiefs and their respective boards do this, lawfully?” We don’t believe they can, that is why we are following the appeals process dictated by Title 32: You can read our appeal to the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners here
Monthly meetings of the Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors are scheduled to be held in-person and via Zoom on the 4th Thursday of every month beginning at 6pm at Station 1, which is located at 11993 Blackfoot Road, Conifer CO at the exit of Richmond Hill exit on U.S.-285. You can find Zoom login details at: Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors Meeting
If you have questions and/or concerns about any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at: cnewby@elkcreekfire.org
EXPLAINER: THE JEFFCOM911 COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM—During the 2024 “Unification” campaign, the Fire Chiefs as well as certain board members and fire district staff, have repeatedly made a number of worrying public statements asserting that:
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- “We’ve been working on luck. …. We’re barely covering our calls.”
- “We’re not even coordinated…”
- “Look at the call acuity… …. We’re one call away from disaster! “
Now, a new study recently completed by this author examines the effectiveness of the Jeffcom911, the emergencey dispatch system utilized by the three fire districts and others in our mountain community. The study presents clear evidence from Jeffcom911 call logs that these statements are varifiably false and that the actual 9-1-1 call volumes for Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon, and North Fork FPDs are in steady decline while the call acuities—a measure of severity for an emergency incident—are in steady decline for Elk Creek and Inter-Canyon FPDs and has increased only slightly for North Fork FPD over the 5-year study period of 2020–2024. You can find the study here: Explainer: The Jeffcom911 Computer Aided Dispatch System
Moreover, the narrative that the fire districts cannot handle “overlapping emergency calls” and that this is putting our health and safety at risk is simply not true: While emergency calls are variable and do spike at times, this is precisely the reason that we utilize “mutual aid agreements” with adjacent fire districts as a strategy to level these peaks in emergency calls.
Also, the fact that Elk Creek FPD receives more mutual aid than it gives. Just think about it for a moment: With a population of 17,000 and U.S.-285 running right through the middle of the district, Elk Creek FPD is where most of the calls are going to be. For example, according to Jeffcom 911 call records, Elk Creek FPD ran 1,092 calls in 2024 while North Fork FPD ran 134 calls in 2024 and Inter-Canyon ran 341 calls. The mutual aid numbers show that the system is working as designed, not that it’s broken! Plus, by contractual agreement, assisting fire districts are compensated for the mutual aid that they provide.
ESTIMATED COST OF THE FIRE DISTRICTS’ CONSOLIDATION EFFORTS—After having had to submitting 26 CORA (Colorado Open Records Act) Requests to the three fire districts as well as to Jefferson, Park, and Douglas Counties to obtain the necessary information, we have finally been able to complete a report—which can be found here—with respect to the direct cost to taxpayers for the efforts to consolidate / merge the fire districts. Importantly, our estimate reveals that the consolidation effort cost the taxpayers of Jefferson, Park, and Douglas Counties as well as the State of Colorado taxpayers at least $343,000—more than the cost of a new, fully equipped ambulance.
ENGAGEMENT—As we consider the long-term future for Elk Creek FPD, I believe that genuine, sustained community engagement is essential. Please join me in conversation via email, expressing your values, needs, ideas, & recommendations for how the fire district can best serve the community going forward at: cnewby.co@gmail.com (I will keep these communications strictly confidential).
MEETINGS: Elk Creek Board of Directors & Pension Board of Trustees Meeting dates have been changed such that, respectively, Board of Directors Meetings are now held on the 4th Thursday of the month beginning a 6pm at Station #1 (please see map) and Pension Board of Trustees Meetings are held the 2nd Thursday quarterly in January, April, July, & October only via Zoom. The Zoom remote meeting option can be accessed here: Elk Creek FPD Board of Directors Meeting via Zoom Meeting ID: 813 3590 3811
RELATED DOCUMENTS:
— ECFPD Board of Directors Meeting Packet 3/27/2025
— ECFPD Board Packet November 2024 11/21/2024
— ECFPD Budget 2025
CONTACT ME: If you have questions related to the Fire District services or policies, please do not hestitate to reach out to me either via my official email: cnewby@elkcreekfire.org using my private email: cnewby.co@gmail.com or telephone me: (720) 260-9212.
WILDFIRE HAZARD RESOURCES:
— Neighborhood Wildfire Risk: Community Wildfire Protection Plan
— Community Wildfire Risk Reduction: Wildfire Mitigation Resources
— Wildfire Risk Reduction for the Neighborhood: Firewise USA®
PROGRAMS:
— Home Assessment: Wildfire Prepared Home Assessment Program
— Property Mitigation: Neighborhood Chipping Program
— Help in Your Neighborhood: Community Ambassador Program
ELK CREEK FPD STATION 1
11993 Blackfoot RD, Conifer CO 80433
– at US-285 Richmond Hill exit –
About Me:
mIn the fall of 1998, my family and I moved to Valley-Hi after my career took me to the Denver Technology Center where I worked as an R&D engineering executive for several Fortune 100 satellite and cable television technology companies including PrimeStar (now DirecTV), AT&T Broadband, and others. As an electrical engineer specializing in the design of communication systems, I have spent a career practicing the art of using teamwork to solve complex systems problems — technically, logistically, and financially.
Additionally, I have operated my own engineering consultancy in Colorado for more than twenty years. I am a veteran of the U.S. Army having served at Camp Page in the Republic of Korea with the U.S. 8th Army, 1st/42nd Field Artillery Battalion as the leader of a nuclear weapons detachment from 1971-1972. I am also dedicated to family, having been married to the same lovely woman for almost fifty years. Joanne and I have three wonderful children and four delightful grandchildren, all of whom live in Colorado.
If you would like to learn more about my education, work career, and get a sense of the technology teams with which I have been fortunate to have been involved, please see the following resume, which resides at my consultancy website: resume
AFFILIATIONS
Elk Creek FPD
Telecommunications Engineering
San Diego State University
U.S. Army Field Artillery
United Steel Workers of America
Copyright © C.F. Newby registered agent 2022 – 2025. All rights reserved.