Supervisor Calls Black Forest Fire Report 'Ridiculous'
BLACK FOREST, Colo. (CBS4) – A new report by the Black Forest Fire Department claims firefighters secretly protected the home of a commander with the El Paso County Sheriff's Department.
Hundreds of homes burned in Black Forest and the idea that firefighters were assigned to protect just one is infuriating for people in the community.
According to the recently released report, one home got special protection. That home belongs to Bob McDonald, the acting commander of emergency services for El Paso County.
Steven Thime is the man who told crews to save the home. He said he made the decision to send crews to save two homes that were stills standing.
"Had I not been told in this report, I still wouldn't know who lived there," said Thime.
Thime says the man who did the report, a former police commander, didn't get his side of the story before making those claims.
"I mean, if you're going to point a finger at my credibility, please give me a call and just ask if it's true," said Thime.
He wants everyone to know that he made the decision and he stands by it.
"Hey look, there were two homes standing. If they were two mobile homes, I would have done the exact same thing. If it was two tents, I would have put a fire engine on a tent and dug a line around it. It does not matter to me. And there's no reason for me to know whose home that was. I mean, I protected hundreds of homes in Mountain Shadows, I protected hundreds of home in Black Forest, I cut down trees. I don't ask whose home it is, it doesn't matter to me," said Thime.
The head of the Black Forest Fire Department and the El Paso County sheriff have been at odds over the handling of the firefighting effort.
Sheriff Terry Maketa says the entire report is "flawed" and creates a lot of confusion about what really happened.
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