The Pagosa Springs Fire Protection District (PFPD) Board of Directors held a public hearing for its proposed 2026 budget during its Nov. 4 regular meeting.
PFPD Attorney Dino Ross commented that neither the district nor its legal counsel had received any comment and there was no public comment given during the meeting.
According to the proposed budget, total revenues and expenditures for 2026 are balanced, listed at $5,265,656 for each.
Revenue from impact fees in 2025 is listed at $200,000 with a total of $150,00 listed in the 2026 proposed budget.
Anticipated total tax revenue for 2025 is listed at $4,441,838, while the 2026 proposed budget includes $4,936,340 in total tax revenue.
Anticipated total expenses for 2026 are listed at $4,420,663 and total revenue is listed at $5,190,290.
Electric vehicle fires
During the same meeting, the board briefly discussed the potential scenario of combating an electric vehicle fire within its district.
“Right now, there’s still not a consistent method for attacking fires, those type of fires,” PFPD Chief Robert Bertram said.
PFPD Deputy Chief Karn Macht commented that the district has some training bulletins on dealing with electric vehicle fires.
“It seems like more and more, we’re getting a lot of [electric vehicles] in this town, and putting water on those isn’t a good thing,” PFPD board member Linda Lattin commented.
Bertram also explained, “Right now, there’s still not a consistent method for attacking fires, those types of fires.”
He added different theories are being used and noted that the fire district for Albuquerque, N.M., uses a roll-off dumpster the vehicle is placed in and fills it with water.
Bertram noted that other methods consist of burying the vehicle, or letting it burn, while estimating that anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of water is needed to put out an electric vehicle fire.
“We don’t have that water supply,” he said.
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