Colorado deputy has been the first to respond to more than a handful of fires this summer
The first responder to a fire likely elicits images of firefighters in flame-proof gear on the side of a fire truck with hoses at the ready, but one sheriff's deputy in eastern Colorado has been the first at the scene of several grass fires this year.
There are less than a dozen Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office deputies who patrol more than 600 square miles of eastern Arapahoe County. It's a rural area in the high plains with a lot of farmland, so when a fire breaks out in a community like it, firefighters can use all the help they can get. That's where Deputy Zack Ervin is stepping in.
Ervin has been with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office for five years. Last week when he was on patrol, he was the first to respond to a grass fire in Byers. The fire was less than one-third of an acre, but his ability to get there quickly likely helped keep it from spreading.
"I mostly put this one out, It could use a spray for hotspots," Ervin could be heard saying in his body camera video.
On his shift, he patrols District 8 in eastern Arapahoe County, which covers areas like Bennett, Strasburg, Deer Trail and Byers. It's also an area that has seen a lot of fires recently, likely due to the hot summer heat and dry grasses.
"We've been having a lot of grass fires. So oftentimes -- part of our job is -- we respond to all emergencies, and fire being one of them," Ervin said.
He said this summer, he's been the first to show up to at least seven fires. Like all deputies, he keeps a fire extinguisher in the back of his car, but he probably uses his extinguisher a little more than others.
"I've gone through eight fire extinguishers this summer. Last year, I don't think I used it at all, so this summer has been a little different," Ervin said.
When a call for a fire is made, he tries to get to the scene quickly. Most of the time, it can be miles away. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get there, but the sheriff's office cruisers and SUVs can drive faster than firetrucks, helping get deputies with a fire extinguisher there quickly.
"When we get the call for a fire, we can just immediately put our vehicle in drive and go to wherever we have to go. Oftentimes, we're faster than the firefighters," Ervin said.
Sometimes when he arrives, neighbors will already be there.
"They're out there helping probably more than me. They bring their tractors out. They cut fire lines. They're doing their best to not only save their property but to help their neighbor," Ervin said.
When he arrives, he is usually the first line of defense, because while there are some paid fire departments in the area, most firefighters in eastern Arapahoe County are volunteers. Some work for other paid fire departments in the area, while others might have a full-time job elsewhere.
"Some of them I talk to might just get off a shift and there's a fire and they're getting their gear on and going out there, all volunteer helping us out," Ervin said.
When he arrives at the fire, Ervin assesses the situation and works quickly to save as much as he can nearby. That includes saving any structures or homes and working to weaken the fire.
"I'm grabbing my fire extinguisher and I'm trying to do as much as I can while I wait for the fire department to show up and do their job," Ervin said. "They're better equipped for it, but we do as much as we can, to try and help and save people from losing not only their lives but their property and land that they have out here."
This deputy is pulling double duty and wearing many hats, but he says it's all part of the job and everyone does their best to serve the small communities.
"If there is an emergency, we're going to go," he said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office also has a Wildland Fire Team dedicated and trained to respond to wildland fires. The team is run out of the county's Office of Emergency Management and each member is also prepared to respond to these kinds of calls.
