The Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department (RCVFD) is embarking on a new era as it elevates its ambulance capabilities. An enhanced Ambulance M1 is set to be dispatched on the west side of the department’s service area.  The department is working to complete the necessary Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPH) and Environment inspections by the end of the year. 

Ambulance M1 is currently in operation but is not yet fully licensed. With the expanded service capabilities, the licensing will allow RCVFD emergency responders to provide it. The four-wheel drive vehicle has all-terrain enhancements and is fully equipped with standard basic life support equipment. Together, these allow responders to arrive more quickly in rough terrain and provide more immediate patient services. 

“Answering calls in remote areas and in bad weather is a challenge for our volunteer responders,” says Mark Neuroth, RCVFD Captain. “Adding this caliber of vehicle with the enhanced equipment and capabilities we are adding will allow us to help provide a higher level of services.”

Thanks to a generous grant from the Gary Sinise Foundation and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, RCVFD acquired two cardiac monitors this year. The monitors enable RCVFD EMTs to quickly share patient status reports with the department’s mutual aid partners. This provides critical advance information that improves patient outcomes and strengthens communication between RCVFD responders and medical partners. One of these monitors will be installed in M1, serving the west side of the RCVFD service area, while the other will be placed in the department’s ambulance serving the east side of the district. 

The RCVFD serves a more than 110 square mile area, including Rist Canyon, Stove Prairie, and the Buckhorn, and provides mutual aid to an additional 50 square miles. The approximately 35 volunteer firefighters provide emergency response to life and property from fires, natural disasters, medical emergencies, motor vehicle and cyclist accidents, and all other rescue/emergency situations.