The Silverthorne Town Council will hear from local fire leaders about possibly adding a fire station in town in response to growing calls from the public about safety concerns.

On Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 6 p.m., Town Council will hold its regularly scheduled meeting at Town Hall, 601 Center Circle. During that meeting, Chief Travis Davis and Fire Marshall Kim McDonald are scheduled to give an update on Insurance Services Office ratings and planning for the town’s fire station.

Currently, emergency services calls made in Silverthorne and north of town are responded to by firefighters and EMTs at the fire station in Dillon. Summit Fire & EMS operates four fully-staffed stations located in Dillon, Keystone, Frisco and Copper Mountain. 

The discussion was originally slated Sept. 28, but a lack of quorum of council members postponed the presentation. At a Sept. 14 council meeting, some Silverthorne community members expressed concerns during public comment about the response times of emergency services, especially during times of traffic congestion near Interstate 70. 

At that meeting, Town Council members expressed that having a fire station within town limits is still a high priority. 

“Silverthorne has been promised a Fire Station since 2006, 16 years of waiting is enough,” a letter from concerned citizens reads. “Our Town Council needs to fully participate and work with the summit fire district to make a Silverthorne fire station a reality. It is in the best interest of the town’s citizens. Continued development without meeting the public safety needs of our entire community just does not make sense.”

According to the most recent Insurance Services Office ratings, which are effective on Dec. 1, 2022,, Summit Fire & EMS has a classification of “Class 02” or “Class 2X” for most of its residential and commercial areas. 

For Class 2 — which means that the subdivision or municipality is within 5 road miles from a fire station and 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant or water source — this includes Frisco, Dillon, Silverthorne, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Wildernest, Dillon Valley, Summit Cove, Keystone Ranch, Mesa Cortina, Summerwood, Ruby Ranch and Willowbrook. Class 2X is greater than 1,000 feet from a fire hydrant but is still 5 road miles from a station. Class 2X includes portions of the Ptarmigan or Bill’s Ranch.

Other parts of the county have a Class 10W, meaning they are greater than 5 road miles from a fire station but have a fire hydrant within 1,000 feet. These include Montezuma, parts of Eagles Nest, Three Peaks, Summit Sky Ranch, Acorn Creek and Pebble Creek subdivisions.

“(Public Protection Classification) is important to communities and fire departments as well,” a letter from Alex Shubert, manager at the National Processing Center, states. “Communities whose PPC improves may get lower insurance prices. PPC also provides fire departments with a valuable benchmark, and is used by many departments as a valuable tool when planning, budgeting and justifying fire protection improvements.”

Town Council meetings are open to the public and begin at 6 p.m. Agendas are posted online at the town’s website and include supporting documents for each portion of the meeting.