Twelve new firefighters just joined the line for Estes Valley

Living and working in a mountain valley means knowing who shows up when things go wrong. On Friday night, November 6, that group got 12 people stronger, as the Estes Valley Regional Fire Academy graduated its 10th class in an emotional ceremony at the YMCA of the Rockies Estes Park Center.

More than 120 family members, friends, firefighters, instructors, and community leaders gathered for the evening. The graduates will serve departments in Estes Park, Jamestown, Glen Haven, Pinewood Springs, and Big Elk Meadows, and the class included the first two firefighters from Jamestown to take part in the academy in its decade of operation.

The training behind the badges was serious. Over 14 weeks the class covered fire science and fire behavior, hose handling, ladders, forcible entry, wildland firefighting, vehicle accident response, search and rescue, ventilation, and live fire operations. Anyone who spends time in these mountains knows the wildland part of that list is not theoretical here.

Keynote speaker Mike Scott, division chief of training and professional development for Bennett Fire Rescue, put the work plainly: "The public sees the response. Your preparation determines the quality of the response." Class honors went to T.J. Sanford of Pinewood Springs, who received the Class 10 Leadership Award as voted by students and instructors, and to instructor Mark Brown, named the 2026 Instructor of the Year by the graduates.

The most powerful moment may have been the oath. Division Chief Justin Kearney invited every sworn firefighter in the room to stand with the graduates and reaffirm the same commitment, so veterans and new firefighters took the oath side by side.

Context matters too. According to the Voice, the Estes Valley Fire Protection District has 39 firefighters, 34 of them volunteers, and had responded to 826 calls as of October 31 this year. In a valley that leans this heavily on volunteers, a graduating class of 12 is not a small thing. It is neighbors training for months so they can answer when a neighbor calls.

Earlier this week this valley voted to fund its own fire protection. Friday night was the other half of that story: the people who do the work, and the families who support them through 14 weeks of it. Congratulations to the Class 10 graduates, and thank you for stepping up.

Read the original reporting at Estes Valley Voice.