A fire station in the mountains west of Boulder that burned to the ground Friday night was as much a community hub as it was headquarters to an eclectic group of volunteer firefighters.
“The loss of this station is a real emotional blow,” said Steve Stratton, fire chief of the Sunshine Fire Protection District. “It’s like losing my house.”
About 9 p.m. Friday, the glow from the flames could be seen from Stratton’s living room window, he said. His wife called 911.
About 30 volunteer firefighters from the Sunshine, Four Mile, Gold Hill and Boulder Rural fire-protection districts fought the blaze at 311 County Road 83. Many of the firefighters, including college professors and business owners, train together and answer up to 50 fire, accident and medical emergency calls a year, Stratton said.
“It was like a big family that came out to save the fire station,” he said.
The first few firefighters who responded were able to get two firetrucks out of the building, said Sgt. Geno Martinez of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Stratton, who does voice- overs for commercials and documentaries, said because there are few public buildings in the area five miles west of Boulder, the station built in the late 1970s was often a community meeting place.
The fire district serves 143 home owners, including aging hippies in 120-year-old cabins and wealthy businessmen in 10,000-square-foot homes. They approved a tax levy several years ago to pay for new equipment and a custom-built engine to scale the steep mountain roads, Stratton said.
They also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for a second fire station that was completed two weeks ago. The station that burned down had been used for training and storage.
The station, which was insured, will be rebuilt, but possibly in a different location, Stratton said.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
