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As Evergreen Fire Rescue has grown from a handful of volunteers with a Dodge Power Wagon and a garage into an organization with a cadre of state certified volunteer firefighters with dozens of apparatus and eight stations, it has developed a complimentary administrative structure. Our Administrative Division includes human resources, accounting, billing and support services. At the present time Evergreen Fire Rescue is being led by interim district administrator Frank Dearborn in cooperation with the Evergreen Fire Protection District Board of Directors and the Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Jeff Ashford. The Fire District is in a period of review to determine the direction it will take for its future leadership.  Sylvia Ross is Evergreen Fire Rescue’s accountant and the billing clerk for the EMS Division. She pays the bills and sends out invoices as necessary to our vendors. As billing clerk, she processes all medical claims for patients we transport, either by billing Medicare, a private insurance company or the patient. She has worked for EFR since June 2005, although she was an accounting consultant for the district starting in October 2004. In this brief period she has standardized and organized the Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable functions as well as the end of the month accounting procedures, and streamlined the payroll. She also has increased the collection rate by giving our patients the option to pay by check, cash or credit card and billing commercial and Medicare insurance in a timely manner. “My goals for 2006 and beyond, are to continue the path of organizing and increasing funds to offset expenses for the district,” Ross said. She can be contacted at 303-679-4747.
 Ben Celius, who started as our first paid training coordinator in May 2006, was hired subsequent to the 2005 mill levy increase. Improving training opportunities directly improves the quality of service available to district residents and visitors who call 911 with an emergency. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration and his Master’s of Business Administration and Operations, and holds certifications in firefighting, fire instruction, hazardous materials, fire inspections, and his FEMA PD series. State and national training requirements for firefighters, pre-hospital medical providers, fire prevention and fire investigation have increased to a point where training oversight and direction demands the attention of a full-time employee, especially in a large agency like Evergreen Fire Rescue. Additionally, Ben assists with many other technical duties such as oral boards, capital equipment purchasing, and budget management for the Fire Operations Division. A Denver native slowly moving west toward the mountains, Ben formerly worked for South Metro Fire/Rescue directing the operations and instruction at Metro Fire Training Center. Ben also spent time as the chair of the fire sciences program at Arapahoe Community College where he developed and refined curriculum for the Fire Academy. Ben brings with him a great deal of experience as a fire administrator as well as a firefighter. Like many of us, Ben began his fire career as a volunteer and has remained in the fire service ever since.
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