Divide Fire Protection District

What Divide Fire Protection District does

Divide Fire Protection District (DFPD) is a Colorado quasi-governmental special district founded in 1949, providing fire suppression, emergency medical services, and technical rescue to roughly 100 square miles in north central Teller County, Colorado, including the community of Divide, surrounding subdivisions, and adjacent national forest lands. Operated from two stations — Shoemaker Station (103 Cedar Mountain Rd) and a Rainbow Valley substation — the district maintains a fleet comprising Class A structural engines, Type 1 wildland interface engines, Type 6 brush engines, water tenders up to 3,500 gallons, technical rescue and primary medical response vehicles, command vehicles, and ATV/UTV units for backcountry rescue. ISO ratings inside the 5-mile station zone are 4 (with hydrants) and 4Y (without hydrants); outside that zone the rating is 10.

As of January 2024, DFPD operates a combination paid/volunteer model: a paid Chief, two full-time paid fire technicians scheduled primarily during daytime hours, a district administrator, a personnel coordinator, and a community-based volunteer bench whose members frequently include professional firefighters and EMTs employed by larger metro-area districts. Mutual aid agreements with surrounding fire departments provide resource augmentation for larger incidents, and the district participates in Teller County's Chipping Program for community wildland-fire mitigation.

DFPD is governed by an elected Board of Directors and funded primarily through property taxes levied on residents and property owners within the district boundary, supplemented by donations accepted via PayPal. The district publishes annual budgets and conducts public board meetings in compliance with Colorado special-district transparency and CORA requirements. DFPD is not a privately held or investor-backed entity, and no funding rounds, acquisitions, or equity instruments are present in its structure.

Name

Divide Fire Protection District

Legal name

Divide Fire Protection District

Website

https://dividefire.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Divide Fire Protection District is a Colorado special district, founded 1949, providing fire suppression, EMS, and technical rescue across 100 square miles of Teller County via a combination paid/volunteer staff funded by property taxes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fire Protection and Emergency Services

NAICS

Fire Protection (92216), Fire Protection (922160)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Fire & Rescue Services (Fire Suppression, Rescue) (BPAIAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wildfire Suppression & Incident Response (AFAMAEAE), Wildfire Risk Assessment, Prevention & Suppression Services (IMAMAJAG)

Keywords

• Fire suppression services
• Emergency medical services
• Technical rescue operations
• Wildland fire response
• Fire protection district

Headquarters

HQ city

Divide

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenue: Fire protection district funded primarily through property taxes from residents and property owners within the district boundaries.
2. Donations: Accepts donations through PayPal platform for community support of emergency services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Divide Fire Protection District is a Colorado special district providing fire suppression (structural and wildland), emergency medical services, and technical rescue to approximately 100 square miles in north central Teller County. Services are delivered through a combination paid/volunteer model using a fleet of structural engines, wildland interface engines, water tenders, rescue vehicles, and command vehicles deployed from two stations.

Product overview

Divide Fire Protection District operates as a combination paid/volunteer fire department providing fire suppression, emergency medical services (EMS), and technical rescue to approximately 100 square miles in north central Teller County, Colorado. The district maintains a fleet of specialized apparatus including structural engines, wildland brush engines, water tenders, rescue vehicles, and command vehicles. Services are delivered from two stations: Station 1 Shoemaker Station in Divide and a substation in the Rainbow Valley area. The district also offers community programs including a fire mitigation chipping program, and participates in mutual aid agreements with surrounding fire departments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fire Suppression Services

Quantifiable outcome

• ISO Rating 4 for properties within 5 miles of station with hydrants, ISO Rating 4Y for properties within 5 miles without hydrants
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Surrounding Fire Departments (Mutual Aid)coreOthersDFPD participates in a mutual aid agreement with surrounding departments. Based on initial dispatch or on-scene reports, DFPD might put other districts on standby or request additional resources such as people, engines, brush trucks and/or tenders.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District: Combination paid/volunteer fire protection district serving Monument, Palmer Lake, and surrounding areas in northern El Paso County, CO. Highly comparable to DFPD in service model (hybrid staffing), wildland-urban interface exposure, and small-district scale.
• Florissant Fire Protection District: Neighboring fire district in Teller County, historically merged with Divide as the Divide-Florissant Volunteer Fire Department before separating in 1999. Direct peer given shared service area, similar volunteer-based model, and historical partnership.
• Palmer Lake Fire Department: Small volunteer/combination fire department serving Palmer Lake, CO, north of Teller County. Closely comparable to DFPD in scale, service model, and wildland-urban interface exposure in the Front Range mountain corridor.
• Park County Fire Protection District: Volunteer/combination fire district serving rural Park County, CO, comparable to DFPD in mountainous terrain, wildland-urban interface exposure, small volunteer base, and reliance on property tax and mutual aid.
• Cripple Creek-Victor Fire Department: Nearby fire department in Teller County serving the Cripple Creek and Victor communities. Comparable as a small mountain-district fire service in the same county with similar wildland fire risk and community-based delivery model.

Others

• National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC): National membership organization supporting volunteer fire/EMS departments. Relevant to DFPD as a peer ecosystem organization addressing volunteer recruitment, training, and funding challenges that affect small fire districts like DFPD.
• Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC): State agency that provides training, certification, and incident response coordination to Colorado fire agencies. Adjacent to DFPD's operations through wildfire response coordination, training resources, and grants.
• Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS): State agency that provides wildfire mitigation, forest management, and grants to local fire districts in Colorado. Comparable as an ecosystem partner that delivers overlapping wildland fire risk reduction services and funding relevant to DFPD's chipping program.

Broad incumbents

• Douglas County Fire Department: Much larger combination fire/EMS agency serving Douglas County, CO, adjacent to Teller County. Provides broader regional context for service delivery, mutual aid, and standards in the Front Range mountain corridor.
• West Metro Fire Rescue: Large combination fire/EMS agency serving the western Denver metro area. Comparable as a Colorado fire protection entity but operates at significantly greater scale, with full-time career staffing and broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/facebook
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/divide-fire-protection-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Divide Fire Protection District