Danielle Allen is a full-time mom. She has four kids ranging from a toddler to a teen and they are the central focus of her life.
But she still finds time to coach a high school rugby team, and on Aug. 1 she — and 11 others — graduated from the fire academy and became an official Wellington Fire Department volunteer firefighter.
At the close of a ceremony conducted by Chief Gary Green at the Wellington Firehouse, Allen was presented with the Top Axe award for the best overall performance during her training.
A native of North Carolina, Allen came to Colorado years ago “on a whim” and worked in fire restoration for the City of Fort Collins before serving as a wildland firefighter for two years.
“When I’m through having kids,” Allen promised herself, “I’m going to return to firefighting.”
Now at age 32, she’s a qualified structure firefighter and looks forward to serving the Wellington Fire Department.
After the ceremony, friends and family enjoyed refreshments and socializing with the new firefighters.
In addition to Allen, the newly-graduated firefighters are: Tim Brown, Christopher Clow, Nicholas Concialdi, Thomas Forbes, Andrew Hale, Aaron Holstag, Maura Montenero, Todd Plumer, Trevor Searcy, Sean Tate and Braxton Warren.