Aspen Fire Protection District examines a strong helicopter proposal

The Aspen Fire Protection District takes steps early to put together a team to explore the feasibility to bring one of the heavy fire brigade helicopters in Colorado to the Roaring Fork Valley.

The effort is an answer to an information request (RFI) issued by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) that uses inputs at potential locations for the aircraft. Aspen Fire works with regional partners to evaluate whether the valley could be a suitable basis for the resource.

DFPC has not taken over Aspen Fire directly about this opportunity via the publicly issued RFI. Instead, the district proactively works with local stakeholders and agencies to assess how he could support the efforts of the state by securing a location for the helicopter in Aspen or a contribution to the broader initiative.

No decisions were made about where the helicopter could be stationed and the discussions remain in the early stages. Aspen Fire begins talks with Airport Aspen/Pitkin County and other regional companies to determine the best possible location.

At this point, no formal permissions for the accommodation of the aircraft were requested or granted.

“Our goal is to examine the opportunity to bring this incredible fire brigade in our region and work with our partners to determine how we can best support the DFPC mission,” said Jake Andersen, deputy head of the operations. “We realize how important it is to have strong air control resources in hard -working areas like ours, and we strive to work with state and local agencies to see what role we can play in this process.”

Aspen Fire welcomes Community -Input when the discussions made progress and will provide updates if further information is available.