Firefighter Continues To Battle High Park Fire After Losing His Home

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Hundreds of firefighters are working to stop the High Park Fire from burning into any more populated areas. One is a volunteer, who while trying to save his neighbors' homes, lost his own.

"I'm still going to keep at it," volunteer firefighter Randy Starkey said.

Starkey volunteers with the Rist Canyon Fire Department.

"They're the best. They're the best. They're really good guys," Starkey said. "We're actually providing structure protection for the homes that made it. In that we're having to work on a house, work on another house, work on another house."

While protecting those houses he found out the trailer that was his home for 32 years burned to the ground.

"When my fellow firefighter found my old dog Blondie's name tag that was on her dog house I almost cried there," Starkey said.

He says he's gotten dozens of calls from friends and neighbors who want to help, but right now he has just one focus.

"I don't know what's going to happen for sure. Right now I'm just going to fight fire. I'm going to sort that out later."

When he does, it won't be the same.

"It's going to be hard because in my mind the picture of where I used to live was absolutely beautiful. Everywhere you looked was really, really nice. Now it looks like the moon," he said. "Character is something that's built by events; some of them good, some of them bad. Life is a series of character building experiences."

Starkey was able to get his dog and his son's cat out safely before the fire reached his home, but he says he lost everything he owned inside the trailer.

On Wednesday one of the commanders overseeing the firefight praised the work Starkey's outfit has done.

"Most of those successes (we've had) I will attribute to two fire departments," said Bill Hahnenberg, manager of the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Manager Team. "The Rist Canyon Fire Department and Fire Chief Bob Gann. Residents need to thank them. They've been working very hard. Those are volunteers, and they've done a great job protecting structures and residences. Similar with the Poudre Fire Authority and Chief Tom DeMint. He and his folks are doing the same kind of work -- working long hours and working hard saving structures and protecting their communities.

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