The Operations Division provides emergency services to the community. The Division is led by the Deputy Chief and is divided into battalions A, B and C. One battalion is on duty each day. Each battalion is led by a Battalion Chief, who reports directly to the Deputy Chief. The Battalion Chiefs supervise the daily operations of members assigned to the Operations Division. In addition to the Deputy Chief and 3 Battalion Chiefs, members assigned to the Operations Division include 8 Captains, 16 Lieutenants, and 93 firefighters. Sixty-three of our 93 firefighters are career firefighters and 30 are volunteer firefighters. Every firefighter is a professional.
An Incident Safety Officer (ISO) normally assigned to the Training Division is available at every hour of every day. An ISO responds to any incident that poses a significant risk of injury or death to a member. No member in the near 100 year history of the organization has sustained a life threatening injury or death in the line of duty. This fact is due in to the culture of safety and competency that exists within the organization.
The Operations Division responds to thousands of 911 calls each year. Most of those responses are emergency medical incidents, motor vehicle accidents and fires.
Our partner in providing emergency medical services is Pridemark Paramedic Services LLC. Pridemark Paramedic Services is a contracted and private non-profit entity that provides advanced life support and hospital transport services to our community.
A typical first alarm response to a residential house fire would include 4 engines (each staffed with 3 or 4 personnel), 1 truck (staffed with 4 personnel), 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Incident Safety Officer, and the Deputy Chief and/or Fire Chief. One of the 4 engines is designated as the Rapid Intervention Team and remains in a state of readiness for a distress call from any member operating at the incident. Large or complex fires involve a response from 6 engines and 2 trucks in addition to the Battalion Chief, Incident Safety Officer and Deputy Chief and/or Fire Chief. In those instances our good neighbors provide staffed engines within the District to maintain the highquality of service that the community we serve deserves and expects.
Special Operations provided by the Division include swift, open and ice water rescue capability; rapid intervention teams; hazardous materials responses; confined space, high angle, and trench rescue response capabilities, as well as wildfire response capabilities. More than a handful of our members are also members of Colorado Task Force 1, a federal urban search and rescue team based out of Colorado. Our urban search and rescue team specialists have responded to several incidents of national significance, including hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. Our wildfire team members also provide national response capabilities. 
Although the primary responsibility of the Operations Division is to respond to emergency calls for assistance, members of the Division acknowledge and value the importance of preventing injuries and fires. Operations Division members support the mission of the organization daily by completing Fire Code inspections in local businesses, child restraint system (car seat) inspections, and by conducting a wide variety of public education sessions in addition to responding to requests for emergency assistance.
