CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Most of the main roads through Denver’s south metro area were passable Thursday, but neighborhood streets were still buried under snow.
As South Metro Fire Rescue responded to various calls throughout the day, firefighters and paramedics relied on plows to clear snow during those calls.
“All units are running with chains until further notice through snow – but with depth of snow its causing problems for everybody,” said Brian Willie, Public Information Officer for SMFR.
“We’ve added five different plows into our rotation today, so the five plows get dispatched into different districts. And they lead the way for our medic units and engines into an emergency. They either lead the way in or, when they get there, if the medics get stuck, they’re there to help get them out or plow a new way out for them.”
South Metro also got some help with spare hands and shovels from the Arapahoe Rescue Patrol (ARP), a fully trained search and rescue team staffed by high schoolers throughout the metro area.
9NEWS viewers share snow day photos
“They’ve been going out with the crews in separate vehicles with their shovels and they help dig out walkway, or the street to the house,” Willie explained. “Sometimes driveways haven’t been shoved yet. They’re helping the medics get inside the house.”
Rowan Ames is a 17-year-old high school senior who serves on the ARP. Like most of the students involved, he’s interested in pursuing a career as a first responder.
“It’s a pretty unique organization. There's nothing like this that would get us the same experiences,” he explained.
While most of his classmates enjoyed a snow day on Thursday, Ames and his fellow APR members supported firefighters and paramedics working in their community.
“The mission we do, being able to help out something a lot bigger than yourself,” he said.
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