On a day of a Red Flag Warning, South Metro Fire Rescue brings out the yellow.
“There’s lighter-weight yellow gear which is designed to wear during wildland fires,” spokesman Eric Hurst said.
Firefighters at South Metro Fire Station 41 in Parker had their wildland firefighting gear ready to go Monday.
They’d gotten good use of their gear the day before in Kiowa. High winds fueled a fire that grew to 375 acres near County Roads 45 and 118. The fire consumed four homes and five outbuildings.
“We’ve got a Red Flag Warning today and it’s one of several days in a row that we’ve been dealing with that,” Hurst said. “The key of this is – is that we have high winds and we have really dry conditions.”
On red flag days, Hurst said things change a little bit. Instead of sending out the standard fire engine and brush truck to a small brush fire, the district sends a total of six fire engines out the door right away.
“They’re bringing a water supply tender with them,” Hurst said. “They’re bringing a medic unit with them.”
Hurst said the district has three Wildland Type 3 engines staffed with specially trained wildland firefighters. The truck they use is a cross between a structure fire engine and a brush truck.
“They’re designed to go off road,” Hurst said. “They can pump water while they’re driving.”
On Monday, South Metro Fire sent one of those engines to a small brush fire near E-470 and Quincy Avenue in Aurora.
“We were able to supply some mutual aid resources and help Aurora bring that under control and get it contained as well,” Hurst said.
The fire in Aurora grew to about 30 acres and forced the closure of an entrance ramp to E-470. Thankfully, the fire didn’t spread in the gusty conditions.
On Monday afternoon, South Metro firefighters responded to a structure fire call in Centennial. The fire was contained to a deck in the backyard of a home on Piccadilly Street. It’s a concerning call on a red flag day, Hurst said.
“If there’s surrounding vegetation, a structure fire could become a wildland fire,” he said.
Fortunately, no large fires popped up Monday afternoon, a day when fire crews were red flag ready.
