Castle Rock fire response benchmarks exceeded in several zones
The department’s report also found five-person response forces met time goals in fewer than 90% of reported moderate-risk medical calls; the department added ambulance staffing and plans a new station.
Castle Rock Fire and Rescue’s 2025 Standards of Cover shows first-unit response times above adopted goals in every listed zone category and five-person response forces meeting the time goal in fewer than 90% of reported moderate-risk medical calls.
The town’s 2022–2027 standards set first-unit goals of 7 minutes, 10 seconds in urban areas and 8 minutes, 20 seconds in rural areas. Each goal is intended to be met on 90% of applicable calls. For moderate-risk medical calls, the separate goal for a five-person response force is 8:20 in urban areas and 9:30 in rural areas, also on 90% of calls.
The report’s 2025 first-unit tables show 90th-percentile response times of 12:55 in Zone 6’s urban area and 9:27 in its rural area; 9:00 urban and 13:20 rural in Zone 7; 14:59 rural in Zone 8; and 10:34 urban in Zone 9. Each time exceeded the corresponding goal.
The separate measure tracks how often enough personnel arrived within the time goal. Five-person response forces met it in 26% of Zone 6’s urban calls and 75% of its rural calls; 21% urban and 20% rural in Zone 7; 0% rural in Zone 8; and 80% urban and 33% rural in Zone 9. The report cautions that Zone 9’s rural result is based on only six incidents, too few for reliable conclusions.
The report cites geography, road conditions and distance as challenges in parts of Zones 6, 7 and 8. It also notes rising call volume in Zone 6 and continuing demand in Zone 9.
The department added nine personnel in 2025 to staff a fourth ambulance at Station 155. A 0.2-percentage-point sales-tax increase is intended to support 18 additional fire personnel over five years. The department also plans Station 156 for the Terrain, Liberty Village and Cobblestone Ranch areas, with a tentative mid-2027 opening. The report projects the station will improve first-unit response in its service area, while noting that full response forces will still depend on the availability and travel time of supporting units.