Crystal Lakes Volunteer Fire Department has two kinds of members -- firefighters and auxiliary.  Firefighters respond to community emergencies, from medical to motor vehicle accidents, structure fire to wildland fire, assistance requests, and anything else that comes to us via 911 Dispatch. Auxiliary members assist with logistics and support.

CLVFD firefighters are required to attend at least thirty-six hours of training per year.  In addition to training on department equipment and structure fire scenarios, firefighters are offered training in Ice Rescue and Medical First Response and are required to take the Forest Service S-130 and S-190 classes: Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior and Basic Wildland Firefighter Training.  

Crystal Lakes Volunteer Fire Department firefighters carry pagers and radios and are expected to respond to all fire and medical calls for which they are available. All department members are required to inform an officer of the department if they will be out of district or otherwise unable to respond to calls.

Medical services are contracted to Red Feather Lakes Volunteer Fire Department's Quick Response Team, but CLVFD firefighters must also respond to all medical calls in our district. Medical First Responders report to the scene of the incident while other firefighters respond to the fire station. Firefighters respond with a structure engine to establish and secure a landing zone for the medical helicopter, if necessary, and may be called upon to assist with patient transport on scene or report to the Red Feather station to secure a landing zone there.

All smoke reports and smoke or fire alarms are investigated by our firefighters, who may be required to track down the source of smoke from areas in the outer edges of our district or the surrounding National Forest. If we are first on-scene to a fire in the National Forest, we will fight the fire until Forest Service or Larimer County Emergency Services arrive. Our continued presence on-scene after other fire services arrive is dependent on whether those agencies require our assistance.

CLVFD firefighters respond to all wildland and structure fires in our district. Through a mutual aid agreement with Red Feather Lakes Volunteer Fire Department, we may request their assistance, and they may request ours for fires in their district. Our departments work together to fulfill these mutual aid agreements and keep our two communities safe. We also respond to assist the other mountain departments (Glacier View VFD, Poudre Canyon VFD, Livermore VFD) if requested, and they respond to assist us when we need them.

All firefighters are provided with Personal Protective Equipment including bunker/structure coats, pants, boots, helmets and gloves, wildland shirts, pants, boots, helmets and gloves, wildland fire shelters and packs, wildland belt weather kits, first aid kits, MREs, flashlights, and other necessary safety equipment. The department is equipped with SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) and a cascade system for filling the air-tanks, an ice rescue sled, ice rescue suits, ropes and other equipment necessary to effect a cold-water or ice rescue. We're also properly equipped and trained to perform extrication if people become trapped in their vehicles in a motor vehicle accident and have appropriate training and gear to perform low-angle rescue.

CLVFD is a close-knit community of volunteers dedicated to preserving the safety of department emergency personnel and the community, and proud to be continually striving to be better trained, better equipped, and better able to fulfill our obligations to the community.

We are always in need of new firefighters. Please consider joining us!