Ten Tips to Remember When Stopped by a Colorado Officer

When you see the red and blue lights and/or hear a siren, remain calm and gradually pull to the right shoulder or as far off the right side of the road as you safely can.


Remain in your car unless the officer directs otherwise.


If the stop occurs during darkness, turn on your vehicle's interior lights so the Trooper can easily view the car's interior. Understand the Trooper may use a spotlight and/or a flashlight for safety purposes.



Driver and any passengers should keep their hands in plain sight so the officer can see them.



Avoid sudden movements that might cause alarm to the officer.



Do not immediately reach for your license or other documents until the officer requests them.



Tell the Trooper about any weapons in your vehicle.



If your documents are out of reach, tell the Trooper where they are before you slowly reach for them.



If there are any passengers in your vehicle, encourage them to remain quiet and cooperate with instructions. You, as the driver, are solely responsible for your vehicle and its occupants.



Follow instructions. Comply with the Trooper's request first and then, if needed, seek an explanation.

Published by the Colorado State Patrol
Operational Development Section 01/04

Posted by Colleen C.

9Health Fair - Trinidad, Colorado

Mt. San Rafael Hospital will hold its annual health fair on Saturday, April 16th from 7:30 a.m. to noon (register in the lobby).

Free Screenings include blood pressure, body & balance, height/weight, hearing, vision, lung function, finger stick glucose test, cardiac risk assessment, prostate screening and osteoporosis screenings, plus many interactive educational booths.

Pay with cash or check for your:
Blood Chemistry Analysis - $30
PSA Screening - $25
Blood Count - $15
Colon Cancer Screening Kit - $20
New screening: Vitamin D - $40

Please call Lynda Pachelli for more information - 846-9213.

Posted by Colleen C.

2011 BCVFD Officers/Firefighters and Dispatcher

MARY ANN HERZOG - Fire Chief
MARK ERNST - Assistant Fire Chief
AARON RENDER - Captain
CARTER MORRIS - Lieutenant
JOHN AGNELLO - Training Officer
JAY STOVALL - Firefighter

DAVE HARRIS - Dispatcher 

Posted by Colleen C.

Bon Carbo V.F.D. “Happening” - Part 2

This is the second of three posts about the process of constructing our new fire station. Photographs 1 and 2, below, show how the site looked during and after demolition. Photograph 3 shows partial construction of our new building, which is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

As mentioned in Part 1 of this trilogy, once the building is finished and the new signage has been installed, Part 3 will be posted, along with a photograph of our new “digs.”

Posted by Colleen C.

Bon Carbo V.F.D. “Happening” - Part 1

The photograph above was taken on June 24, 2009. This was the “Old Station” that no longer exists.

The Bon Carbo V.F.D. "Happening" - Part 2 post will include two photographs of how the site looked during and after demolition. There will also be a photograph showing partial construction of our new building, which is expected to be completed by the end of this month.


Once the building is finished and the new signage has been installed, Part 3 of this article will be posted, along with a photograph of our new “digs.”


Posted by Colleen C.

Meet the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Dept. Dispatcher

Our Dispatcher, Dave Harris (fourth from left), has been with the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department since 2001. When he and his wife moved to Bon Carbo, Dave wanted to assist the community and found he was able to accomplish that by putting his thirteen years of dispatch experience with the Denver Police to use in our Fire Department.

Dave has certifications, training and experience in: first aid; CPR; domestic violence FAA training; Diplomatic Protection; Presidential Motorcade protection; Summit of the 8 Dispatch; Pope John Paul II Protection Dispatch; and Presidents Clinton and Ford Protection and escort, plus others.

His hobbies are black & white photography and horses. He is the TSJC Liaison for the college and The Workforce Center.


Posted by Colleen C.

Summer Safety Tip: National Safety Month: Teen Driver Safety

This week, the National Safety Council is focusing on Teen Drivers. With school out and summer jobs in full swing, there are many more teen drivers on the road in the summer months than at any other time.


From now until June 13, the National Safety Council is offering free enrollment in the "Alive at 25" program, which teaches parents about the risks teen drivers face. Please take the few hours to review this course, and then share it with your teen drivers, or your soon to be teen drivers!


Click here for more info!

Colorado Rockies Firefighter Appreciation Night

Thinking about taking in a Colorado Rockies game this season?


On September 11, 2010, the Colorado Rockies will hold their annual Firefighter Appreciation Night, where a portion of select tickets sold will benefit the Colorado Fallen Firefighters Association.


For more information, please visit this link!

Summer Safety Tips: Bicycling and Skating

With the kids out of school, and warm temperatures abounding, bicycling and skating seem to be among the most popular activities for kids. As always, the Bon Carbo Fire Department wants our children to be safe. Please take a few minutes to read this article at safekids.org.


Stay Safe!

Summer Safety Tips: Water Activities

It's really warming up out there! It's that time of year when the kids start begging to go to the pool or the lake to cool off. The Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department wants your family to have fun in a safe way!


Safekids.org has a great article for water safety! Please spend some time refamiliarizing yourself with these tips!


Stay Safe!

Wildfire Approaching

CALL FOR HELP. Use a cell phone if your electrical power has been interrupted.

CLOSE ALL ENTRANCES, WINDOWS AND OTHER OPENINGS. This includes doors, garage doors, windows, vents and any other entrances to your residence or garage. Close shutters, heavy drapes, Venetian blinds or other window coverings. This action is recommended to prevent sparks from blowing inside your house and igniting there.

HAVE TOOLS & WATER ACCESSIBLE. Have a shovel, rake and long water hose accessible. Fill buckets and other bulk containers with water.

DRESS TO PROTECT YOURSELF. Wear cotton/woolen clothing including long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, gloves and a handkerchief to protect your face.

WET DOWN THE ROOF. If your roof is combustible, wet it down with a hose. Place the ladder you use for this task on the side of the roof opposite the fire.

TURN OFF RESIDENTIAL FUEL. If you use natural gas or butane, turn it off at the tank or the meter.

PREPARE THE AUTOMOBILES. Back as many vehicles as possible into the garage. Then close the garage door. In the event you evacuate, close the garage door behind you as you leave. If you do not have a garage or if the garage is full, park vehicles so they are heading in the direction of the evacuation route.

EVACUATE THE FAMILY. If evacuation becomes necessary, take your family and pets to a safe location.



From: http://www.firewise.org/



Posted by Colleen C.

Summer Safety Tips: BBQ Grills

The fine folks at Kingsford have put together safety tips for BBQ grilling. The Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department would like to share these with you!


Stay Safe!

Memorial Day Mud Race

It's that time of year again!


The Spanish Peaks Mud Racing Association will be holding the Memorial Day Mud Race on Sunday, May 30, 2010. We urge everyone to come and have a great time! The Mud Pit is located just off Exit 34, outside of Aguilar.


As always, the Spanish Peaks Volunteer Fire Department will be staging at the event - just in case.

Summer Safety Tips: ATV Riding

As temperatures finally start to warm up, the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department is seeing more ATVs on the road-and off. We encourage safe and fun ATV experiences!


The Consumer Product Safety Commission has put together a great site with safety tips, links to training courses, and upcoming legislation affecting ATVs. Please take a few minutes to visit!


Stay Safe!

How to Burn Debris Safely, Part 3 – Using a Burn Barrel

You can reduce the risk of wildfire when using a burn barrel to dispose of backyard debris if you make sure:


Your burn barrel is of all-metal construction and is in good condition. When checking your barrel, look at the walls and bottom to make sure rust hasn't weakened them, even in spots.

Make sure your barrel is properly ventilated by evenly spacing three 3" square vents near the bottom around the rim and backing each vent with a metal screen.

Put a metal screen on top of your barrel to keep sparks from igniting vegetation - it's recommended you use 14 gauge wire mesh size of 1/4" or finer.

Have a shovel, rake and plenty of water near the burn site.

NEVER use an accelerant in a burn barrel or burn pile. Especially if you like your eyebrows!

Start small and add as you go ... put small twigs and branches at the bottom of the barrel because they ignite quickly, and make sure to stir frequently to introduce new oxygen. After you've established a vigorous heat source from your twigs, etc., add leaves, needles, and bark in small increments and continue to stir frequently to make sure everything gets burned. You'll want to add to your fire gradually because if you have a lot of debris burning in your barrel at once, the intense heat it will generate can cause embers to fly high and over your control line.

REMEMBER, it's illegal to burn just about anything that isn't from a tree or shrub. That means you'll need to take your plastic items (surprisingly, that including window envelopes as they give off toxic fumes), tires, batteries, asphalt, treated wood, pesticide containers, petroleum products, etc. to the landfill.

When you're finished burning, make sure the fire is OUT! Pour water on it, stir it, then pour more water on it and monitor it for two hours to make sure it doesn't reignite. It's hard to believe, but days and even weeks after a fire is thought to be out, a burn pile or barrel can still hold heat! With warm spells, the humidity drops. Add a little Boncarbo wind gust and embers can not only be reignited, but they can be tossed willy-nilly which may just spell disaster for you and your loved ones.

As always, keep your burn site a safe distance away from trees, overhanging branches, vehicles, and/or structures.


To be completely safe, consider an alternative to burning. Can you use your planned burn as compost to enrich your soil? Or how about building a shelter for the rabbits, etc. to live in - if you layer branches and twigs in different directions on top of small logs, you'll be making nesting areas for various wildlife.

If, heaven forbid, your fire gets away from you, call 9-1-1 immediately. You can always try to get the fire under control with the water, shovel, & rake you have nearby AFTER help is on the way.


Posted by Colleen C.

Summer Safety Tips: Physical Activity

Summer is a time when many of us become much more active after a winter of forced inactivity. The Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Departments wants you to be safe this summer!



Please read this article for tips on resuming physical activity in the summer!



Stay Safe!

Summer Safety Tips: Sunburns

With summer fast approaching, despite the cool temperatures, the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department would like to share some Summer Safety Tips. This week: Sunburn!


Avoiding sunburn is always preferable to treating one. Remember to use sunscreen, and reapply often. If you're wearing light colored clothing, place a layer of sunscreen underneath your clothes before you get dressed-UV rays can penetrate light colored clothing! Trips to the bathroom during your daily activities can give you a chance to reapply sunscreen in these areas.


There are some amazing products on the market today. Consumer reports has an article with recommendations and tips.


If you do get a sunburn, RevolutionHealth has an article with treatment ideas.


Stay safe this summer!

How to Burn Debris Safely, Part Two – Preparing the Burn Site

AFTER we’ve gotten our burn permit from Chief Mary Ann (see “How to Burn Debris Safely – Part One”), we’ll prepare our burn site so that an ember, flame, or radiant heat doesn’t reach nearby vegetation and possibly start a fire that may quickly get out of control.

With safety the number one priority, we’ll make sure our vertical clearance is three or more times higher than the pile we plan to burn. Just because we can’t see radiant heat above the flames leaping several feet into the air, it doesn’t mean it’s not there … and it doesn’t mean it won’t go even higher. For that reason, we’ll check to make sure there aren’t any power lines or overhanging limbs above the burn site. We’ll also move vehicles well away from the burn area and make sure the burn site is nowhere near the house or outbuildings.

Taking fire very seriously, we’ll clear a minimum of ten feet in diameter around our burn pile or barrel, and we’ll make sure the debris pile or barrel is surrounded by nothing more than soil or gravel. We’ll also water the area around the burn site before we light the debris, and we’ll make sure we have a fire extinguisher or hose AND a shovel handy – just in case.

Right about now you’re probably thinking, “First of all, this sounds like an awful lot of work, and second – who is this we you keep talking about?”, but a well-prepared burn site will reduce the possibility of regret once that piles goes up in flames. I’m pretty sure we’ll … okay … you’ll be glad you made the effort.

Part three of the “How to Burn Debris Safely” series will discuss the use of a burn barrel and will be posted at a later date.

Posted by Colleen C.

How to Burn Debris Safely – Part One

During the coming months, many of us will be diligent in clearing a defensible space around our homes and outbuildings. Once we’ve gotten those branches, pine needles, brush cuttings and leaves piled high, it won’t be a good idea to just leave them where they lie … not only are they eye sores and great places for snakes to make their homes, but they can be a fire’s best chance to spread.

The first thing we’ll need to do is get a burn permit. This is crucial because on Red Flag Warning days, it’s just too hazardous for burning anything, even in a wood stove or fireplace. Chicago may be the official ‘windy city’, but our winds here in Boncarbo are pretty impressive at times! A nice gust could carry sparks from our burn sites to grass or brush a considerable distance away, and then we could be in big trouble. Not only will we have to deal with the fire damage and possible injuries, but we could get slapped with a fine for the illegal burn.

To get a burn permit we’ll need to call Mary Ann Herzog, Fire Chief of the Bon Carbo Volunteer Fire Department, at 846-8538 to make the request. If she’s unable to answer, we can leave a message – she’ll call back as soon as possible.

If a permit has been issued to us in the past, Chief Mary Ann will be able to give verbal approval over the phone. If this is a first request, she’ll schedule an appointment to inspect our burn site and, if it’s safe, issue the physical burn permit then.

It’s illegal to burn pretty much anything other than what we’ve cleared from trees or shrubs, so we’ll have to forget about torching those old tires or that stack of plastic bottles and containers we’ve been meaning to take to the landfill. Besides, some of those things give off toxic fumes when burned.

How to Burn Debris Safely, Part Two will cover how to prepare the burn site and will be posted at a later date.

Posted by Colleen C.

Are You Fire Wise About Your Child’s Safety?

There are so many things as adults that we take for granted.

Because we’re old enough to know where fire comes from, we tend to forget how we felt about it when we were much younger. Do you remember the first time you heard the sound of a match being struck and the smell of the sulfur as it billowed into a flickering light? Or the surprise you felt when you saw your mom turn the knob on the stove and the blue and yellow glow appeared? What about the first time you saw your dad or granddad flick a lighter and a flame popped out?

Pretty amazing stuff – especially to a toddler!

As you got older, were you one of those lucky kids who played with matches and suffered no consequences? Statistics prove that many, many other children haven’t been so fortunate. Fires can spread ridiculously fast, and one small mistake can be the last.

It’s true that curiosity about fire is natural, so we, as parents, need to be aware that matches left on the coffee table or candles left burning in the living room can cause all sorts of trouble if we’re not diligent.

Some things we need to do are:

• Put matches and lighters up out of our child or grandchild’s reach or keep them in the pocket of the clothing we’re wearing at the moment. Even better, lock them away! Children can be extremely resourceful – it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out a way to climb up on the counter to get their little fingers around that lighter!

• The Cinnamon Spice candle that makes our house smell so nice can leave little Timmy blistered, or cause his clothes to catch on fire if we’re not paying attention!

• If we can’t do it ourselves, we need to designate a responsible adult to keep at least one eye on the children at all times. We need to keep in mind that fire is only one possible danger kids can encounter before they get old enough to make wise decisions for themselves!

• Granted, the loud beeping of a smoke detector is annoying, but it may just be the only thing between our child and her painful burns or death! That sounds harsh, but it’s true. Our homes should have detectors in or near each bedroom, as well as throughout the entire space.

If we do our jobs right, our little Timmy’s and Tammy’s will grow up, safe and unscarred, with a healthy respect for the benefits and dangers of fire. It’s up to us!


Posted by Colleen C.