An EMT‐Basic Refresher Course will be held in the district at Station 3 beginning Monday, January 4 and ending January 30. Classes will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings (with one exception) and on Saturday morning, January 30. Please see your calendar for specific dates, times and locations. If you want to take the Refresher Course and haven’t already in‐ dicated so, please let Leesa Zalesky know. This class is being held through Southwest Community
College. Mark Bauer, Adam Rodgers, Robin Walsh, Steve Ebner, Doug Zalesky and Doug Ram‐ sey have signed up for the class so far.
The curriculum for the course will include a CPR refresher for anyone who needs it on January 30. If you’d like to participate in
the CPR refresher, or if you need more information, contact Leesa.

Chief: Steve Ebner 701
Assistant Chief: Doug Zalesky 702
Fire Captain: Mark Bauer 706
Fire Lieutenant: Garret Vogel 709
Wild Land Fire Captain: John Vogel 704
Wild Land Fire Lieutenant: Cassie Ramsey 708
EMS Captain: Leesa Zalesky 705
EMS Lieutenant: Will Walsh 707
Public Information Officer: Leesa Zalesky 705

ATTENTION! Special Notice!
The January EMS training will be held on Thursday, January 14, 1900 at Station 3.
Dr. DeMond will be conducting this session on performing EKGs in the field with the new cardiac monitors.
EMT-Basics are now permitted to run EKGs. Please be there!

The Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Department will host “Christmas for Kids” on Saturday, December 19 at 2:00 p.m. at the Library on the San Juan Basin Research Center (Station 2). The event will include activities and treats for youngsters and a reading of “The Night Before Christmas.” Organizers suspect that Santa will be on hand, perhaps even arriving by fire engine. The event is open to all kids in the area, so if you know any please invite them to attend. Plenty of volunteers are needed for this event so if you’re will-ing, able and available please contact Assistant Chief Doug Zalesky for the details.

Annual Banquet: If you’re interested in volunteering to help organize the annual banquet,contact Chief Steve Ebner or Assistant Chief Doug Zalesky. Date, time and locationare forthcoming.EMT-B Refresher Course: Tentatively set for the month of January, pending approvalby the college. To be held at Station 3. Leesa Zalesky will instruct the class; contacther for details. A CPR refresher will be included. If you need a new CPR card but don’t need the EMT-B refreshercourse, contact Leesa.Cookbook Sales: The Christmas season makes this the ripe time to market our department cookbooks.The Fundraising Committee is asking for help from each member. Please consider a commitment to sell aminimum of five cookbooks to your friends, neighbors and family members. If you know about any events orlocations where cookbooks could be marketed, please contact Mary Ebner.LaPlata West Water Authority Meeting: Will be held Saturday, December 5, Station 3 at 2:00 p.m. Themeeting is open to the public. Attendees will hear an update on...

Read More »

Calling All EMTs!The new LifePak 12 cardiac monitorsare in! Dr. DeMond has indicatedthat EMT-Basics will be ableto utilize this equipment during patientcare, with the exception ofinterpreting cardiac rhythms. Thus,it’s imperative that we train allEMTs on the application and use of these new monitors.The November EMS training is scheduled for SATURDAY,NOVEMBER 7 and will be dedicated to thisprocess. A complimentary hot breakfast will beserved beginning at 0830 at Station 3. Breakfastchefs are Doug Zalesky and Mark Bauer. Training willcommence at 0930 and will end at 1100. Our instructorfor the session will be Jen Gaddis.Please make every effort to be at this training, evenif you’re familiar with 12-Lead application. This isnew equipment for the department and we wanteveryone familiarized with the units. For insurancepurposes, we need to document that all eligible personnelhave been trained. Those unable to attendthe training will need to arrange for remediation at alater date and will not be able to use the monitorsuntil...

Read More »

Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Department

P.O. Box 11

Marvel, CO 81329

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 30, 2009

Contact: Steve Ebner, Fire Chief 970/259-8714 or Doug Zalesky, Assistant Chief 970/259-7118

Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Department Statement on October 30, 2009 Evacuation in District

October 30, 2009 ~ Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Department (FLMFD) representatives said today that at approximately 10:00 a.m. on October 30 the department received a report of a possible poisonous gas emission and fire west of State Highway 140 in the area of County Road 122.

A natural gas transmission line, owned and operated by an out-of-state energy company, traverses that area. It is not uncommon for natural gas transmission lines to also carry hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S). A combination of hydrogen sulfide and natural gas are commonly extracted during the drilling process, and the two are later separated during the refinement process.

Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, highly toxic gas with...

Read More »

The freezer next to the new ice maker at Station 3 has been locked to secure the frozen pork from the 4-H pig purchase. We apologize for the inconvenience, but none of us had personal freezer space to accommodate the meat. Plans are being formulated about how to turn the frozen sausage into a fund raising opportunity for the department. Stay tuned!

 For the last couple of years a committee has been working on crafting a new set of by-laws that would better guide the department into the future. A lot of time and effort has gone into the development of these as well as a lot of input from members. As this is the members’ department it is extremely important that member input be a part of the process. During a recent business meeting some questions regarding current language in the proposed by-laws came up and it is prudent that we address these questions for all members. The intent at this last business meeting was to take a final vote on the passage of these new by-laws, but it was decided to delay that until questions were answered and clarification was made on some issues.

Probably the biggest issue surrounded the selection and voting process for the officer team each year. In the past, individuals were nominated for positions and the membership voted on each position individually. While the language in the proposed by-laws may seem to completely...

Read More »

 Using funds raised privately, the Fort Lewis Mesa Firefighters supported local 4-H youth during the La Plata County Fair Junior Livestock Sale on Saturday, August 8. FLM Firefighters purchased the market hog project of district resident Sam Romero. The hog has been processed into sausage for use at future fund raising events. FLM Firefighters were also able to provide significant add-ons for three 4-H youth directly related to the department. They are Ty Thorsheim, Shantell Stiner and Reese Smith. “Firefighters’ generous funding of this effort allowed us to bid on sale animals of district youth throughout the sale, driving up prices,” commented Assistant Chief Doug Zalesky. “This in an important effort that builds goodwill for the department and helps out local youth at the same time. The department should be commended for voting to make such a worthy investment.”