New Northern Colorado emergency services building to expedite response to natural disasters
Larimer County has opened a new, more than $30 million emergency services facility designed to give first responders more space and a central location to coordinate during major disasters.
Hundreds of people gathered Friday north of Fort Collins for the opening of the Northern Colorado county's new Emergency Services Building. The facility will house multiple first-responder entities and provide space for incident command during disasters.
"Unfortunately, history has proven that we need a facility like this. I mean, of all the counties in Colorado, we have the number one for declared disasters in the state," said Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen.
Larimer County has experienced several major disasters, including the Cameron Peak Fire, the East Troublesome Fire and the 2013 floods in the Big Thompson Canyon.
"We've had the largest wildfire in Colorado history here in Larimer County. So, unfortunately, past history shows that we need to provide this service to our citizens," Feyen said.
The facility will also serve as a gathering point for first responders heading to or returning from calls throughout the county.
"It gives us a lot more space," said George Janson, field coordinator for the Larimer County Search and Rescue Team.
Janson said the additional space will make it easier for teams to coordinate their work across Larimer County.
"It's just going to be a very helpful facility," Janson said. "It'll just help us facilitate our response out through the rest of the county."
The facility's location northwest of Fort Collins is also expected to improve response times.
"So our response times up to Poudre Canyon will be significantly shorter because of that," Feyen said.
The property covers 50 acres, leaving room for additional emergency operations in the future, including campsites for crews responding to wildfires and landing areas for helicopters.
Feyen said the investment is ultimately about getting emergency crews where they need to be as quickly as possible.
"In those moments of crisis, we can respond faster. Hopefully, save property and more importantly, save lives," Feyen said.
