Dan Daley, fire chief of the Lake County Fire Department, presented the department’s long-range goals and capital needs during a county meeting, focusing on apparatus replacement, staffing, wildland mitigation and station infrastructure.

Daley said rising equipment costs are driving much of the plan. “A type 3 engine went from 380,000 to 589,000,” he said, and noted the department has one remaining payment of $72,000 on its current type 3. Daley proposed putting $100,000 from the fire fund as a down payment and continuing payments from that fund if the board approves the purchase.

The plan prioritizes replacing an aging type 6 engine (Engine 603; model year 1996), adding or replacing a tactical tender (water truck), upgrading command and utility vehicles, and maintaining three type 1 engines in service to preserve all‑hazard response capacity. Daley said some current apparatus are in the shop at the same time, leaving the department temporarily dependent on older rigs.

Beyond vehicles, Daley discussed personnel and training. The department currently lists 47 personnel and operates a resident firefighter program with six residents (two per shift). Daley said the department has hired four resident firefighters from an academy, planned to hire two more, and promoted one firefighter to engineer. He requested funding to hire an additional engineer at Station 2 to support sustained response capability there.

On wildland fire work, Daley said the department wants to grow a mitigation program and build a deployable wildland team. He said the department plans to begin funding the program in 2028 and seeks seed money to staff a sworn wildland specialist who would lead mitigation and deployment work. Daley said the department will continue pile-burning and partner with local organizations, citing work with Homestake Trout Club and other entities.

Daley described facility and infrastructure needs: utility costs for both stations are “roughly about 45 to $50,000 a year,” he said, and recommended pursuing a solar grant to lower energy expenses. He also described donated funding of roughly $17,000 to build non‑climate‑controlled storage at Station 2, and discussed plans for a climate‑controlled storage facility in partnership with Colorado Mountain College (CMC). Daley said the department updated an intergovernmental agreement and entered a land-lease agreement with the college; when asked, he said the lease term was unclear in his presentation but that he believed it to be five years.

Daley highlighted recent and pending grants and equipment purchases: a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant that he said will pay for salaries and benefits over three years, assistance from CMC (including a $250,000 training equipment package and about $30,000 in materials from CFC), an AFG (Assistance to Firefighters Grant) award that closed out, and equipment purchases funded in part by donations. He said the department has received deployments on multiple incidents simultaneously, which has helped build capacity and revenue; that revenue currently supplements capital replacement funding tied to a CERF agreement.

Daley said the county has a capital replacement plan for apparatus and that he will follow up with county staff and consultants about long‑term replacement timing and costs. He also raised options to sell or refurbish surplus or aging vehicles and to seek telecommunications lease revenue from a proposed tower. Daley said he would research tower-lease opportunities and solar options further.

The presentation closed with questions from meeting participants on timelines, funding sources and the status of particular vehicles. Daley said he would provide follow‑up information and documentation on the capital replacement plan and specific equipment issues.

Looking ahead, Daley said the department will continue to pursue grants, run mitigation burns, and develop partnerships with the college and regional partners to expand training and mitigation capacity.