A test of the emergency access across the newly closed Dillon Dam Road today was a big flop, Summit County officials said.
“It’s extremely slow,” said Brandon Williams, a spokesman for Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue. “If you’re in the back of an ambulance having a heart attack, these new procedures are going to add minutes, when minutes mean life or death.”
Denver Water, however, thought the test went well.
“Today, we had discussions with Summit County officials of short, intermediate and long-term access plans for emergency vehicles,” Stacy Chesney said. “We also participated in tests with Summit County to make sure emergency vehicles could pass the barriers.
“To our knowledge, those tests were successful. If Summit County has concerns, they have not expressed them to us directly. We remain committed to working with emergency responders to make sure they have the access they need.”
Denver Water announced the closure of the one-mile road across its dam on Tuesday, then closed the road hours later at midnight. Summit County officials have cried foul over the loss of one of just three cross-county routes.
The utility said security of the dam is paramount, because a terrorist breach would devastate the towns of Dillon and Silverthorne along Interstate 70.
Today, emergency responders said they found the new procedures would require them to call one of three numbers, summon a Denver Water security guard to come unlock the passage across.
“It took over a minute just to drive around one barrier,” Williams said.
He noted that the test was performed ambulance and smaller emergency response vehicles. Denver Water Board has not yet authorized or provided suitable access for fire engines and larger trucks.
