Community Outreach & Education

Businesses, institutions and multi-family residential occupancies are required to develop emergency plans, including such safety strategies as building evacuation, procedures for evacuating disabled individuals, holding regular fire drills, etc.

Many property managers and homeowners’ associations ask for assistance in developing these emergency plans. The division’s emergency procedures training officer, a certified fire safety educator, provides training in developing the emergency plans and procedures, and conducting fire drills—fire drills are critical in achieving proper response by occupants during an emergency. There is a charge for this service.

Fully charged and properly maintained portable fire extinguishers can help minimize damage to your business and injuries to your employees and customers. The Denver Fire Code requires that portable fire extinguishers be present in homes and businesses, and that they be mounted, located and identified so they are readily accessible.

Since portable fire extinguishers are only as effective as the user, the Fire Prevention and Investigation Division offers training to help ensure that your employees/tenants have the confidence and skills necessary to take action should a fire occur at your facility. 

The Denver Fire Department Fire Extinguisher Training program includes:

• Overview of the fire protection equipment installed in your facility
• Review of proper procedures and fire evacuation routes
• Alertness to fire hazards
• Review of the types of fire extinguishers and their proper use
• Identification of the classes of fires and how each is fought
• Indoor or outdoor hands-on experience

Guidelines for all Ride A long’s including Civilians, Public Safety Cadets, and CAP members.

• All riders must be a minimum of eighteen (18) years of age to ride any fire apparatus.
• Apparatus RAL’s will be limited to one rider per rig, per shift, per month. There will only be a maximum of 3 riders on any given day in the Operations Division, with no more than one rider per district per day.
• All RAL’s must be approved through the Division Chief of Operations, or designee.
• Riders shall conduct themselves in a courteous and professional manner.
• Riders shall be held to the same Conduct Standards as firefighters.
• Riders shall not participate in any emergency scene operations or  interfere with the duties of the firefighters.
• The District Chief and/or Company Officer may cancel a RAL at any  time at their discretion. If a ride has been cancelled, the rider will have to submit a new request to ride on the Departments website at least  21 days in advance of the next RAL date.
•  All individuals shall have their hair secured and/or styled so it doesn’t  hang into their face nor project away from their head more than two inches.  Hair that extends below the bottom of their collar shall be secured in a ponytail.
• Riders must be neat and clean and wear authorized apparel that consists of Dockers or Khaki style pants (no jeans), boots (no tennis shoes), and a black or navy-blue shirt/polo (must have collar) with no advertisements or endorsements (sweat shirts are allowed in inclement weather). No jewelry is allowed except for a watch and a wedding ring. Sandals and open-toe shoes are prohibited. Paramedics, Fire Fighters, and Public Safety Cadets may wear their uniforms.
• All RAL’s will be granted from 0700 to 1700 hours only.  Company Officers, with the approval of their District Chief, may elect to extend the hours of the RAL up to 10:00 p.m.  No 24-hour RAL’s are allowed without  the prior written approval of the Chief of the Department or his designee.
• While participating in a RAL, cell phone use shall be limited to emergency communications only, any other use is prohibited.

CIVILIANS

• Riders shall be subject to a criminal background check that will be used to help determine eligibility for the RAL.
• Civilian rides are restricted to a maximum of one (1) ride every six (6) months and will only be granted from 0800-1700 hours.

PUBLIC SAFETY CADETS

• Public Safety Cadets are allowed up two (2) rides per month if they are currently assigned in a Denver Fire Department assignment. They are allowed up to one (1) ride per month if they are not assigned to the Denver Fire Department.
•  Public Safety Cadets are expected to participate in all training and daily maintenance activities around the fire station. 
•  Public Safety Cadets have been asked to stop the practice of bringing in dessert for the firehouse.
• Cadets are not required to pick up any paperwork before their            scheduled ride.
• Cadets new to the program are required to appear in person, in full  uniform to complete all applicable forms before their first RAL.

CAP MEMBERS

• CAP members are allowed up to two (2) rides per year.

Download a printable version of our Ride-A-Long program and guidelines.

In recent years, most of the fire safety training for Denver schools has been delivered through the Denver Firefighters Museum, with grant money awarded to the Fire Protection and Investigation Division, the Denver Public Schools Risk Management Division, and the Denver Firefighters Museum.

The Fire Prevention unit’s emergency procedures training officer is a certified fire safety educator and frequently provides training focused on specific problems to school classes experiencing these problems, i.e. fire setting, experimenting with fire, injury of student from fire. There is no fee for school training.