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Welcome to the Big Sandy Fire Protection District /
Simla Volunteer Fire Department homepage!

The District covers over 500 square miles of Eastern Elbert and Northeastern El Paso Counties with Fire and EMS services, and is a combination volunteer/paid Fire/EMS department. The ongoing success and operation is a testament to both the supportive residents of the area we cover and the devoted volunteers that have donated countless hours to keep this department moving forward.

The Big Sandy Fire Protection District has now been supported through the special tax district for 3 years which alleviates the strain on our past donators and also on our ambulance service which supported this department for years. Your support, as always, is appreciated and we look forward to serving you as the Big Sandy Fire Protection District!

The department feels that this district formation will better serve and benefit the community we serve in so many ways, and we are very excited about the future. The BSFPD has a very dedicated and knowledgeable Board of Directors that will always put the community's fire and medical protection interests first.

So thanks again for visiting, and we look forward to seeing you again!

ELBERT COUNTY FIRE WARNING Date: 12/4/2007 Elbert County Fire Chiefs Association Raises Burn Restriction to Stage II Date: Effective December 9, 2009, On Wednesday, December 9, 2009, The Elbert County Fire Chiefs Association, recommended increasing the county wide burn ban for all unincorporated areas of Elbert County to a Stage II restriction level. This will remain in effect until further notice. Under Stage II restrictions, no open burning is allowed, the sale and use of fireworks and education rockets are prohibited. The safe use of charcoal and gas grills are allowed and not affected by this ban. Violation of the burn restriction carries penalties for 1st time offenses of $110.00 as set forth in the county burn restriction ordinance 06-01. "Even with the snow, we have too much dead ground cover that burns very well, we determined it would be a proactive move to prevent wild land fires," said John Hillmann, Big Sandy Fire Protection District Chief and Fire Chief Association Chairman. A good website for Fire Weather Zone updates is NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office site at: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/firewx/fire_mainmap.php . This site immediately displays a map of the Colorado Zones by number. Click on the Zone and it delivers the area specific report." For further information call the Elbert County Office of Emergency Management at 303.805.6131 or your LOCAL FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT.

Recent News Winter is here and and without much moisture it's - WildLand Fire Season. The grass that grew is now dried out. Please be careful when driving in pastures and ALWAYS use your car ashtray instead of throwing the butt out the window, it won't take much to turn pastures into a raging fire. If you want to burn slash, trash, do a campfire, etc.... DON'T Please contact the Fire Department to find out if there is any current county or fire district restrictions in place. Without this notification a brush truck will show up and put your fire out. Always remember to carry sunscreen with you when you are outdoors for any length of time. Sunburns don't really show up until you get back inside and then you realize how burnt you are. Sunburns can lead to first and second degree burns and can be very, very painful. Make sure you also cover your kids with sunscreen and try to use at least an SPF30 sunscreen. Folks using space heaters and other types of alternative heating such as wood stoves, kerosene, etc..., check your equipment for any signs of wear that may present problems. Practice safety while using these kinds of heating sources by being aware of placement and possible combustibles in the area that could ignite. If you are using a wood stove, think about getting that chimmney swept.

About the Web Site

The Fire Page has fire prevention information as well as apparatus images. The EMS Page includes seasonal medical information as well as links to the major hospitals in the Denver/Colorado Springs Region. There's even a Kids Page with resources geared toward younger audiences.

The Incident Images and Sponsored Events pages provide graphic glimpses of what we do on calls, in training, and sometimes just having fun.

The Burn Permit page contains information about conducting a controlled burn, and how to go about getting a permit for it. We now have an Online Burn Permit Application available for submission.

Interested in Volunteering? We'd like to hear from you! NO experience is necessary, just a sincere willingness to be part of a team and able to donate some time and effort toward a very worthy cause.

Care to contribute content, leave some feedback, or submit ideas about improving the site? Please visit the Contact Page. Suggestions are always welcome!

Member Resources

Email account access and other Member information is now available from the Member Resource Page. If you have any access problems please contact me by phone or email. Chief/1700

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