Ben Franklin, a founding father of both our country and the country’s first volunteer firefighting organization, was accurate when he proclaimed, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Evergreen Fire Rescue’s Fire Prevention Division follows that tenet on a daily basis, issuing burn permits, reviewing construction plans, teaching classes, conducting station tours and sharing information with the public.

Frank Dearborn, EFR’s Fire Marshal and Assistant Chief of Prevention since 1998, leads the division. He is responsible for overseeing the fire inspection program, reviewing commercial and residential building construction plans, conducting fire alarm and suppression plan reviews and acceptance testing, inspecting construction sites, approving new and existing driveway inspections and teaching fire safety. Frank also issues burn permits for Clear Creek and Jefferson County residences.

Community education is a priority for Frank. In addition to developing a community educator position, he has developed programs for the students of Evergreen. He teaches hands-on fire extinguisher training to students at Evergreen Middle School twice each year and to the public when requested. He also added a second word game to his repertoire of Fire Prevention presentations. Now, in addition to the Fire Safety Trivia Bowl, he has the Wheel of Fire Safety to evaluate students’ knowledge of fire safety terms and subtly test their spelling abilities, which was well received by teachers.

Fire Marshal Frank Dearborn teaches a student at Evergreen Middle School how to use a fire extinguisher at an annual training. (Photo by J. Lock)

In July 2007 Shelley Hunter was selected to join the prevention team as the fire inspector. Shelley came to us from South Metro Fire where she retired as Deputy Fire Marshal after a distinguished career. We are pleased to have Shelley on our team as she brings with her a great deal of experience and expertise in the field of fire codes, code compliance, plan review, and a host of other prevention related skills.

Douglas Saba joined the prevention team as the fire inspector/ community educator in 2011 bringing his 25 years of fire service experience to the community. From his years as the Wheat Ridge Fire Marshal and 19 years as a volunteer at Greater Brighton Fire, Doug brings many skills to his position with EFR and will be available to provide enhanced public education through training and tours.