A Brief History of the Skyline Fire Protection District
As the Denver Metropolitan area expanded after WWII much of the growth was south and east of the city limits into what was then Arapahoe County. The area currently know as Holly Hills was part of this expansion. While the City of Denver "flagpole" annexed up and down the major arterial streets that had a large tax base the enclave of Holly Hills was left without fire service.
When the need for services to protect this area, the Skyline Fire Protection district was founded in 1958 as a volunteer fire department with its station at 6000 East Yale. A five member board was established to oversee the department. For nearly 50 years Skyline maintained this volunteer status. A full time weekday staff was added to respond to daytime calls and train the volunteer firefighters.
Many current residents fondly recall Chief Collins, Captain Hoffman and the Dalmation dog who would respond when need arose between 8 and 5 on weekdays. A number of current and former Holly Hills residents served as volunteers who trained weekly and responded to the average of 100 or more calls per year.
Shortly after 2000, data showed that while daytime calls often resulted in very quick responses, evenings and weekend calls frequently had noticeable delays as volunteers needed to drive to the station and then to the scene of the incident. The Skyline Board addressed this problem by entering into a discussion with the City of Denver Fire Department. An agreement was reached, and now the Denver Fire Department responds to all Holly Hills calls. The agreement with DFD allowed for much quicker overall response times and eliminated jurisdictional issues about which district a house was in.
Today the Skyline Fire Board continues to monitor the DFD service to our residents and employs a part time Fire Marshall to assure that residents, group homes, schools and businesses are adequately served. The Skyline Board collects .10 mils from the Arapahoe Property tax collection. The Board has been able to reduce the mil levy collection in part due to the contract with Denver Fire.
If you have questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to the Board:
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Claire Moran, President
Term expires May 2025
Kent Epperson, Vice President
Term expires May 2027
Gordon Smith, Treasurer
Term expires May 2027
Barry Teeter, Secretary
Term expires May 2027
Catherine Langer, Director
Term expires May 2025
CONSULTANTS
Accounting
Darcy Beard, CPA
skylinefireprotectiondistrict@gmail.com
Mobile 303-594-5488
Fax 303-379-4962