To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Norris W. Croom III, Fire Chief
Kathleen Walsh, Accreditation Manager, Fire and Rescue Department
Title
Resolution Approving the Town of Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department 2025 Standards of Cover, 2025 Edition
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
As part of the accreditation process through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department (CRFD) used the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) Quality Improvement for the Fire and Emergency Services framework to develop the 2025 Standards of Cover (SOC).
The 2025 SOC evaluates CRFD’s performance for the 2021-2025 period and serves as a companion to the 2021 Community Risk Assessment. Together, these documents identify and quantify community risk; define the level of service CRFD provides; establish historical performance baselines and adopted benchmarks; evaluate first-arriving unit and effective response force performance; and identify service gaps and recommended actions.
In 2025, CRFD responded to 7,402 calls for service. Total call volume increased 20.4% between 2021 and 2025, while the Town’s population continued to grow. Emergency medical services remained the department’s highest-frequency service demand. Station 154 recorded the greatest call volume in 2024 and 2025 with Station 151 following closely behind. The addition of Medic 155 in June 2025 expanded the department’s advanced life support transport capacity and reduced utilization pressure on existing medic units; continued monitoring is needed to determine the long-term systemwide impact.
First-arriving unit performance remained relatively stable overall; however, the analysis continues to identify response-time and resource-concentration gaps in portions of Planning Zones 6, 7, and 8. Planning Zone 9 continues to exceed the 2021 Fire Master Plan call-volume threshold for considering a new station and is showing a gradual negative trend in urban benchmark compliance as Stations 151 and 154 become busier.
CRFD is actively constructing Station 156 to improve distribution in Planning Zone 6, with the station projected to open in mid-2027. While the new station is expected to reduce first-arriving response times, effective response force performance will continue to depend on the availability and travel time of supporting resources. The department will evaluate response-area boundaries, unit hour utilization, deployment reliability, and the need for additional resources after Station 156 is placed in service.
The SOC is based on historical performance and current known conditions. Its recommendations support continuous improvement and resource planning but are not intended to predict future performance with certainty.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
No separate public notification or outreach process was conducted specifically for this annual SOC update. The department’s service priorities and community expectations remain grounded in stakeholder input gathered through prior strategic planning and community engagement. Following adoption, the SOC will be made available to the public through the department’s website, with printed copies available at Fire Headquarters upon request.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
Town Council has previously reviewed and approved annual updates to CRFD’s Standards of Cover, including approval of the 2024 Standards of Cover on July 15, 2025, through Resolution No. 2025-084. The 2025 SOC continues the department’s annual performance-reporting and continuous-improvement process.
Discussion
For the 2021-2025 evaluation period, CRFD has sufficient call volume to evaluate first-arriving apparatus performance in most planning zones. Planning Zone 8 remains the primary exception because of its low incident frequency. CRFD also monitors simultaneous incidents because overlapping calls can require units to respond from farther away, increasing response times and reducing deployment reliability.
The SOC evaluates both distribution and concentration. Distribution measures the arrival of the first unit. Concentration measures arrival of the effective response force (ERF), meaning the personnel, apparatus, and equipment needed to safely and most proficiently mitigate an incident. Performance is evaluated by service type, risk level, geography, and population density. Total response time includes call processing, turnout, and travel time.
Key Findings
• Community demand continues to grow. CRFD answered 7,402 calls in 2025, a 20.4% increase from 2021. The increase observed in 2024 and 2025 indicates a return to a steady upward demand trend after the 2023 decline.
• EMS remains the dominant service demand. Moderate-risk EMS incidents make up the majority of call volume. The fourth medic unit, Medic 155, entered service in late June 2025 and increased system ALS transport capacity.
• Station 154 has become the busiest station area. Increased development and calls associated with long-term care and assisted living facilities contributed to Station 154 recording the greatest call volume in both 2024 and 2025; Station 151 remains close behind.
• Overall, first-arriving performance remains relatively stable, but geography, roadway access, development, and unit availability continue to produce uneven performance among planning zones.
• Interstate responses remain operationally challenging. Limited access, traffic, road construction, mobile callers, and difficulty confirming incident location and direction of travel increase call-processing and travel times.
Planning Zone and Deployment Considerations
Planning Zone 6. PZ6 reached and exceeded the Fire Master Plan planning threshold in 2025, generating 258 calls for service. Extended travel distances and roadway limitations continue to affect performance. Station 156 is under construction and is projected to enter service in mid-2027. The station is expected to materially improve first-arriving unit performance; however, supporting-unit travel times may continue to affect ERF performance.
Planning Zone 7. Station 152 has significantly improved first-arriving performance since opening in 2018. Continued residential growth and the reclassification of FMZ 15740 from rural to urban have increased service demand and contributed to lower benchmark compliance. Station 152 does not currently house a medic unit; therefore, concentration performance depends on medic units responding from other CRFD stations or mutual-aid agencies.
Planning Zone 8. Current call volume remains very low and does not support assigning dedicated resources at this time. However, the approved 5,850-unit mixed-use development, approximately 3 million square feet of commercial development, and the Crystal Valley Parkway/I-25 interchange will materially change future demand. CRFD has secured land for a future southern station when adopted planning criteria are met.
Planning Zone 9. Annual call volume has ranged from 447 to 593 incidents since 2021 and has met or exceeded the department’s threshold for evaluating a new station since 2008. Although present urban performance remains generally comparable to other zones, growing demand and workload at Stations 151 and 154 are contributing to a slight negative compliance trend. Quarterly and annual monitoring continues and remains warranted.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are based on the 2025 Standards of Cover analysis and are intended to support data-driven service delivery, responder safety, and alignment with community expectations:
• Continue monitoring performance in Planning Zones 2 and 7 to determine whether recent changes represent sustained improvement or normal annual variation. Responsible: Accreditation Manager
• Continue oversight and support of Station 156 construction, staffing, apparatus, and operational planning, with a target opening in mid-2027. Responsible: Fire Chief
• Closely monitor medic-unit call volume, unit hour utilization, depletion, response distribution, and deployment reliability following the addition of Medic 155. Responsible: Accreditation Manager
• After Station 156 opens, evaluate first-due boundaries, ERF performance, supporting-resource travel times, and whether additional resources or deployment changes are needed at Station 152, Station 156, or elsewhere in the system. Responsible: Accreditation Manager and Fire Chief
• Closely monitor Planning Zone 9 development, call volume, first-arriving and EMS ERF performance, and workload effects on Stations 151 and 154. Responsible: Accreditation Manager
• Monitor development in Planning Zone 8, including residential, commercial, recreational, roadway, and interchange activity, and evaluate the timing of additional resources as adopted planning and operational thresholds are reached. Responsible: Accreditation Manager and Fire Chief
• Provide annual SOC updates to the Public Safety Commission, Town Manager, and Town Council addressing call volume, performance trends, baselines, benchmarks, service gaps, and recommended actions. Responsible: Accreditation Manager and Fire Chief
Budget Impact
Adoption of the updated Standards of Cover has no immediate budget impact. The SOC identifies monitoring priorities and supports future planning; any recommendation requiring new staffing, apparatus, facilities, or a material change in service level will be brought forward through the Town’s established budget and approval processes.
Staff Recommendation
Staff recommends adoption of the 2025 Standards of Cover.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title.”
Attachments
Attachment A: Resolution
Exhibit 1: 2025 Standards of Cover