Mayor Bach spent the afternoon with the firefighters of CSFD Station 8 – the busiest fire station in the city and the 7th busiest in the country. The Mayor has participated in police and fire ’ride-alongs’ to get an idea of what a typical day is like on the line. These ‘ride-alongs,’ he admits, have been eye-openers.
“You gain a tremendous appreciation for what our men and women in public saftety are up against. I have great respect for our police officers and firefighters.”
Colorado Springs has 20 fire stations, soon to be 21. Station 8 covers the area from Platte Ave. down to Fountain Blvd. between Circle Dr. and Powers Blvd.
Last year, the district around Station 8 had the most traffic accidents, medical incidents, brush and grass fires, structure fires, and one of the highest number of hazmat incidents of any other district in the city.
Mayor Bach talked with all the firefighters of Station 8 and thanked them each for their service. For the full three hours he was there, it was almost non-stop as he went with them on all their service calls. It was a busy afternoon, with firefighters responding constantly to the high demands of the area. The calls were all for various medical services, not any fires—which is pretty typical for all CSFD stations.
In 2011 the CSFD responded to 802 fires and 34,995 medical calls. Mayor Bach saw first-hand how truly important the health services our fire fighters provide are, and praised the efforts of everyone who works to help the people of Colorado Springs.
