VIDEO: The Denver Fire Department will detour around five city bridges later this month because fire trucks are too heavy for the aging structures’ safety limits, potentially adding time to emergency responses across multiple neighborhoods. Weight restrictions will affect three bridges in the Central Park area โ Quebec Street from Smith Road to Interstate 70, Smith Road over Quebec and Sandown Road over Quebec.
Fire Station 26, located just south of the three Central Park bridges, will no longer be able to send trucks north on Quebec toward I-70, and some routes west toward Monaco will need to detour. Fire Station 39 in Northfield will be unable to travel south on Quebec past I-70. “There’s definitely the possibility that it can add time to that response,” said Denver Fire Chief Desmond Fulton.
The goal for firefighters is to leave stations within 60 seconds of receiving an alarm and reach emergency scenes within five minutes, meeting that standard 90% of the time. However, an audit last year found Denver Fire was reaching scenes in six minutes and 11 seconds 90% of the time. When asked what constitutes an acceptable increase in response time due to bridge restrictions, Fulton said, “That’s a great question, and I don’t think any increase is acceptable.”
Another bridge that will be weight-restricted is Sixth Avenue over Lincoln Avenue, which spans Cherry Creek in central Denver. Station 11 in the Baker neighborhood will need to cross Lincoln farther south when responding to calls.
