With Aurora's rapid growth, the need for fire stations in the Colorado city is greater
Aurora Highlands is one of the newest communities in Aurora with hundreds of homes already built and many more under construction.
Yet what isn't in the development yet is a fire station -- the closest one is about 15 minutes away. It's a concern for Aurora Fire Rescue as well as the city as it looks for ways to expand and respond in a rapidly growing Colorado community.
"This is a great example of a modern fire station," said AFR Chief Alec Oughton as he gave CBS Colorado's Kelly Werthmann a tour of Station 16, located near Gaylord of the Rockies. "If you look at the amount of space that we've got in this bay, this is huge."
Station 16 is one of the newest and largest in the department, and Oughton is happy to show off its modern features.
"When we start talking about modern fire stations, we're talking about programming that protects our assets," he said.
About 50% larger than most older fire stations, Station 16 is built to house more fire engines, trucks and equipment crews need to respond to emergencies. Oughton also explained how it is better designed to meet the health and safety needs of firefighters who call the station home.
"We're asking them to live here a third of their lives. So think about that -- in a 30-year career, 10 are spent in the fire house," he said.
From individual bunk rooms to improved wellness and training spaces, the modern-day fire station is an example -- says Oughton -- of what's greatly needed in Aurora's new developments.
"We've got four fire stations that we've got planned in the next 10 years," he said. "Aurora Highlands is a top priority, Southshore Blackstone is a top priority... If I could build them tomorrow I would, but we don't have the revenue for that right now."
It's an issue Aurora's Deputy City Manager, Laura Perry, is working to tackle. Since coming over from Denver a few years ago, she's helped develop a first-of-its-kind plan for Aurora that focuses on the many multi-million-dollar emergency services projects.
"The city has grown by 40% over the last 20 years," she explained, "so over a year ago we invested in a Public Safety Capital Master Plan that really took a look at the needs of Aurora Fire Rescue as well as the Aurora Police Department."
Not only the stations needed in new neighborhoods like Aurora Highlands, but also the needs to update old stations that are no longer up to code.
"We have buildings that are 30 to 35 years old and require improvements," said Perry.
That includes the recently demolished AFR Station 9, which had a crumbling foundation. Oughton explained it was more cost-effective to demolish and rebuild than remodel the station built in the 1970s. Station 8, across the street from the Aurora Municipal Center, was built around the same time and is in great need of updating. When that can happen, however, depends on funding.
"With all the various capital needs across the city, both in police, fire, parks, transportation, and the city's finite resources ... balancing those needs is a continuous challenge because those resources are limited," Perry said.
The Public Safety Capital Master Plan will go before Aurora City Council in May, added Perry. And, it's the hope of AFR's leader that the growing needs of his department will be approved to better serve the rapidly growing community.
"There's one dollar that needs to be torn into several different pieces and shared throughout the city's infrastructure," Oughton said. "In a couple decades, this city is projected to be the largest city in the state by landmass and population. We need to keep up with that."
Aurora's Infrastructure Task Force is asking for the community's input on the growing needs of the city -- from public safety to transportation and more. A first-ever "Engage Aurora" event is happening this weekend at the Aurora Municipal Center where residents can share their ideas and feedback on what's needed: auroragov.org/news/whats_new/take_our_build_up_aurora_survey
