Editor:
The Wellington Fire Protection District has been questioned as to why the Town of Wellington’s July 4th fireworks show was canceled. We would like to take this opportunity to apologize for having to cancel the show and explain why the cancellation was necessary.
As most people are aware, the state was under a fireworks ban and burn restrictions due to the very dry conditions. Permission to set off fireworks displays was up to the Larimer County Sheriff. Wellington FPD could have canceled the display well in advance, as many other communities did, but our volunteers have been donating their time to set off the fireworks display for the Town of Wellington for many years and did not want to disappoint the community.
Wellington FPD’s officers worked with Sheriff Justin Smith to define specific criteria which would provide adequate safety for the fireworks display. These criteria were agreed up on July 2, only two days before the scheduled display. The criteria required that there be sufficient volunteer firefighters to light the fireworks, provide fire suppression coverage of the fireworks area and provide adequate fire/EMS coverage of the entire district.
At the Wellington FPD membership meeting on July 3, it was determined that the fire district did not have enough volunteer members available to meet those criteria. At that point it was determined that the only alternative was to cancel the fireworks display. Late on July 3 a member of the Town Board of Selectmen was notified that the Wellington FPD was unable to set off the fireworks display due to insufficient staffing.
The Wellington Fire Protection District Board and Officers recognize in hindsight that while this was an accurate statement, it did not fully explain the situation and left the Town Board in the position of not being able to adequately explain the fireworks cancellation to the disappointed citizenry who had been anticipating the show. We hope that the residents of our fire district can understand that the fireworks show was canceled with the safety of the entire district in mind.
Sue Reed
Wellington FPD Board Vice-President
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