Rye Fire Protection District (RFPD) Fire Chief Steve Bennet reported, at the Wednesday, July 15 meeting, that the new hiring procedures are working out well. He stated two new employees have been added to the staff and he was pleased with how the newly restructured hiring process worked out. Bennett stated that his fairly new office is allowing him privacy to discuss hiring and personnel matters, and to conduct some of the hiring paperwork there.
New hires at RFPD now have a checklist of training procedures and paperwork that they must complete, and initial as completed, during their training time. Each new employee will have a field training officer for in-service training.
Financial reports were available from the new accountant for Chief Bennett to review with the board and, financially speaking, the RFPD seems to be having a good year. They are keeping things well within or under budgeted amounts. This year's higher revenues from property tax income have helped the RFPD. Ambulance billing for December 2023 and January from 2024 in the amount of $8700 was recently posted. This is money coming from insurance companies billed for transport and assistance during that time.
Chief Bennett reported that he ordered new clothing for the RFPD staff. Each staff member received two shirts and two pairs of pants or shorts. There was a short discussion about the rising costs of the clothing, but board members acknowledged that it was not just commercial clothing that had risen in cost.
Although the Pueblo city shop is not working on outside vehicles any longer, Chief Bennett was able to get a fire truck repaired through his contacts and may have a source for future repairs. He will pursue a plan for vehicle repairs.
Communications with Chaffee County regarding the purchase of one or two of their ambulances and a response vehicle are continuing, but there was nothing further to report at the time of the meeting. Captain Alec Coscarella is continuing to work with Chaffee County on this matter.
A grant application for structure gear has been submitted, as has a grant application for education costs. The grant for education costs helps with Emergency Medical Training at Pueblo Community College. The grant pays 50% of the cost of the classes, and RFPD pays 25% of the cost which leaves the employee/ student only having to pay 25% of the cost of their training.
Chief Bennet reported that, during the month of June, RFPD responded to 88 calls for service; 73 of those calls were Emergency Medical Services and 15 were fire related.