McCoy-based Rock Creek Volunteer Fire Department received a $1.3 million grant, called the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant, which will support volunteer fire departments in rural areas of Colorado.

Rock Creek Fire Department will host the regional grant on behalf of Hotchkiss Fire District, Crawford Fire District, and Paonia Fire Districts, Yampa Fire Protection District, Rocky Ford Fire Department, Palisade Fire Department, 4 Mile Fire Protection District and Upper Pine River Fire Protection District.

Participating departments serve over 127,000 residents in Colorado and the visitors who come to the area. They over 4,000 square miles of land are under the protection of these volunteer departments.

Volunteer fire districts in small Colorado towns have a difficult time recruiting young, able-bodied volunteers due to lack of financial compensation and benefits. Many districts lose volunteers to larger cities.

The SAFER grant will allow fire departments to offer monetary incentives, better safety gear, training, annual health physicals and stipends for health care expenses to volunteers in rural communities. 

“Our volunteers give so much,” said Hotchkiss Fire Chief, Doug Fritz, in a statement. “I saw this as a way to help our firefighters stay here in the valley, a way to better support their health and financial needs.”