Salute to Littleton Fire Rescue

January 1st was not just the start of a new year in Colorado. It was a big change day for the men and women of Littleton Fire Rescue (LFR), as their fire department is dissolved and their staff and facilities are absorbed and integrated into the massive South Metro Fire Rescue, the second-largest fire department in Colorado. The tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, resulted in me traveling to the beautiful city of Littleton to personally meet and interview the men and women of LFR and their mutual aid neighbors. I walked through the bullet-riddled entranceways and hallways of Columbine with senior staff and was then allowed to interview all of the key responders and command officers who managed the tragedy that awful day. LFR assigned a captain to arrange and carefully manage interviews with 30 staff members in a city conference room. The captain did it in a dignified and professional process. (This was extremely important in light of the post-incident emotional aftereffects on all involved and non- involved staff.) I listened to their stories and heard their accounts and roles in great detail; shared emotions, tears and fears with them; and became good friends with many afterwards. They did a masterful job under the worst of circumstances. Historically, it's important to note that not one student shot by long rifles and shotguns, and then treated and transported by EMS, died that day. LFR had recently moved to all personnel being certified to provide ALS and w...
Source: JEMS Special Topics - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Exclusive Articles Columns Administration and Leadership Source Type: news