Representative Witwer Honored by Fire Chiefs Association

Centennial – At their quarterly meeting held on Friday, March 14, 2008, the Colorado State Fire Chiefs’ Association (CSFCA) honored Representative Rob Witwer (R-Genesee) for his contributions to fire and life safety during the 2007 legislative session.

Douglas Forsman, Chief of the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority (Greeley) and CSFCA President called the recognition “long overdue.”  Rep. Witwer was to be recognized at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Breckenridge last November, but inclement weather kept him away from the event.

Specifically, Rep. Witwer was honored as the Colorado House of Representatives sponsor of the following legislation during the 2007:

·         House Bill 07-1031, which allows municipal fire departments and fire protection districts to establish a Length of Service Award Program as one means of enhancing the incentives for volunteers to continue in service.

·         Senate Bill 07-007, which expands the types of payments that firefighters may receive for their services and still be considered volunteers for purposes of pension eligibility under the Volunteer Firefighter Pension Act.

·         House Bill 07-1153, had it passed, would have allowed a qualified volunteer firefighter to apply for a tax rebate in the amount of $125 per year for two consecutive years.

Across the nation and in Colorado, the number of volunteer firefighters has been declining for more than a decade. While state and local governments have recognized the decreasing numbers of volunteers, they have been hard pressed to identify specific measures to control the decline and recruit new volunteers.

According to CSFCA President Forsman “Representative Witwer clearly recognizes the significant contribution made by the volunteer fire service in the protection of the citizens and visitors to Colorado.”   He added that “during the 2007 session, Representative Witwer led the legislative effort to provide fire districts and municipalities with additional tools they need to recruit, recognize, and retain volunteers.”

In his speech that preceded the award presentation, Rep. Witwer told the assembled fire chiefs that the role fulfilled by volunteer firefighters really “hit home” three years ago when a family member had a medical emergency in his home.  He said “the first person to arrive on scene to render aid was my neighbor, who is a volunteer firefighter with the Genesee Fire District.” 

According to Rep. Witwer, “many of my fellow legislators don’t realize that the bulk of the Colorado fire service is comprised of volunteer firefighters”.  He cited that sixty-two percent of the fire departments in the state are all-volunteer and that volunteers supplement a small cadre of career firefighters in many more departments.

Rep. Witwer says he is trying to educate his colleagues on what he refers to as the “invisible line item in the budget – the service provided the state by volunteer firefighters.”  Using California as an example, Representative Witwer said that “if the state had to take over the service currently provided by volunteer firefighters, it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.”  He concluded by adding “for this reason alone, we must find ways to take care of this invaluable resource.

Before reading the Resolution adopted by the CSFCA Board of Directors to recognize and commend Representative Witwer, CSFCA Executive Paul Cooke said that the recognition “doesn’t even take in account that his efforts to recognize volunteer firefighters and to address the looming threat of a catastrophic wildland fire have continued into this year”

According to Cooke, “in the current legislative session, Representative Witwer is carrying legislation to provide additional benefits to volunteer firefighters, make training available to fire district board members, and to provide tax credits to property owners in wildland urban interface areas for expenses related to wildfire mitigation.”

Specifically, Rep. Witwer is the House sponsor of the following legislation in the 2008 session:

·         House Bill 08-1110, seeks to establish a state income tax deduction for 50 percent of a landowner's direct costs in performing wildfire mitigation measures on their property, up to a specified maximum.

·         House Bill 08-1324, would have provided an income tax credit to qualified volunteer firefighters in the amount of $125 per year.  This bill was killed by the House Finance Committee.

·         House Bill 08-1334, seeks to grant authority to municipalities and districts to provide group health care coverage to emergency services volunteers.

·         House Bill 08-1360, seeks to clarify that a fire arson investigator authorized by a unit of local government is a peace officer while engaged in the performance of his or her duties.

·         Senate Bill 08-039, sponsored by Senator Mike Kopp (R-Littleton), seeks to make certain training available to board members of fire protection districts whose territory includes wildland-urban interface areas.

In addition, Rep. Witwer co-sponsored Senate 08-116, which seeks to protect the jobs of employees who leave work to respond to specified emergencies as volunteer firefighters.  This bill, sponsored by Senator Ken Kester (R-Las Animas and Representative Marsha Looper (R-Calhan) has passed both houses of the legislature.

Cooke said that “the fire service will be loosing a very good friend when Rep. Witwer leaves the legislature at the end of this term.”

Note:  A copy of the Resolution presented to Rep. Witwer can be viewed here.