Chief's Corner : Commitment to Our Community

From the Past Into the Future

Weege, Mike













Our Commitment

Part 1-Being Prepared
Part 2-CPR and AED’s Save Lives

Part 3-Wildfire Evacuation Planning

Part 4-From the Past Into the Future

The 75th Anniversary of the formation of the Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department has passed and I am very pleased we were able to celebrate with so many people who played a part in the fire department we are so proud of today. Those who came before us exemplified our Mission Statement:
Protect life, property and the environment through prevention, preparedness, education and emergency response.

They also applied the first line in our Vision Statement, “Recognize change in our community and respond accordingly” by expanding this fire department from a single station providing fire response with two fire trucks, to the eight station, multi-discipline fire department serving our community today. Growing from that single fire station to the eight stations we have today took a great deal of planning and community support. The significant changes that took place through the years began with formation of the Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department in 1948, moving away from the Mountain Park Protective Association.

Other significant changes included:
  • The first fire station and the purchase of two trucks.
  • The formation of the Evergreen Fire Protection District identifying a boundary and a taxing entity in 1950.
  • The building of a new Station 1 on Hwy. 73 with seven truck bays, administrative offices and a dispatch room in the 1960’s.
  • The building of Station 2 in Bergen Park and Station 3 in Evergreen South.
  • Allowing women to serve as firefighters came with the 1970’s.
  • The Evergreen Fire Protection District absorbing a struggling volunteer Evergreen Ambulance Service and hiring full-time Emergency Medical Responders in the 1980’s.
  • The hiring of a Fire Marshal and a vehicle mechanic in the 1980’s.
  • The transition from a District Manager and a Volunteer Fire Chief to a paid Fire Chief in the early 2000’s.
  • The construction of Stations 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the outlying areas of the District as well as the addition of a new administration building and maintenance building in the early 2000’s. Station 2 was also enlarged for additional fire trucks and a larger dispatch center.
  • The closing of the dispatch center and Evergreen Fire/Rescue joining a county-wide consolidation center in Jeffcom (Jefferson County Communications Center Authority) in 2018.
  • The addition of a Wildland Fire division for education, suppression and mitigation.
Many of these improvements were forecasted in Master Plans or Strategic Plans. All of these changes were accomplished with community support through fundraising and with mill levy increases which provided the necessary funding to improve services.

Evergreen Fire/Rescue is completing a new Master Plan this year. This plan will be used as a guide for the future as we continue to adapt to meet our community’s needs. We thank the community members who assisted in the development of this Master Plan and look forward to continuing to improve the service through our commitment to our community.

Evergreen Fire/Rescue Master Plan