Fire Victims Assistance

TOTAL EMS CALLS: 22,831

For patients facing an emergency medical condition, our crews are the first providers of care. Lives are often at risk, and that's why we have a well-trained paramedic on board every one of our apparatus- whether it's a fire engine or an ambulance.

‍We know that seconds save lives and it's why we dispatch the closest unit available to each and every call.

Once our crews respond and render care, the patient is often transported to one of our partner hospitals. We believe in strong working relationships with area medical facilities, which assures a good outcome for a critically ill patient.

In 2020, we transported 15,489 patients to area hospitals. 1,383 of those calls were emergent.

STRUCTURE FIRES: 184 and WILDLAND FIRES: 113

In 2020, our crews responded to structure fires, grass and wildland fires, vehicle fires and multi-alarm fires. In just over 68% of the structure fires, the fire was contained to the room of origin, limiting the fire's spread and containing damage to property.

MEDICAL CALLS: 22,831

Medical emergencies make up the majority of our calls. In 2020, we responded to 22,831 medical emergencies - 64.5% of our total calls. Our paramedics and emergency medical technicians were on scene for a variety of emergencies- from cardiac arrests to vehicle crashes, to injured hikers with broken bones or sprains.

‍SPECIAL TEAM CALLS: 600

West Metro has several special teams- Dive/Swift Water, Wildland, HazMat and Technical Rescue. Members of these teams spend hundreds of hours training each year to stay current on techniques so they can take on the responsibility of high risk incidents.

in 2020, our most unsual rescue was safely lowering a sleeping bear from a tree in a residential neighborhood. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers had tranquilized the bear to bring it down, but, instead, it fell asleep. Our Technical Rescue team rigged up a rope system to bring him to earth.

COVID-19 INNOVATIONS

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to the fire district. In the beginning, facing a medical supply shortage, the challenge was keeping the community safe from a virus that showed itself to be extremely contagious and potentially deadly.

West Metro put two new ambulances in service to keep up with the increase in calls. And, one method we used to keep our ambulances clean- ultraviolet (UV) light technology. Just one example of how we overcame and adapted to a fast moving crisis.