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Founding firefighter Buster Anderson passes

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Contributed by: Einar Jensen on 1/2/2008

Frank "Buster" Anderson, 94, one of Evergreen Fire/Rescue's charter members, passed away Jan. 1.

Anderson, his brother Walt and 44 other men established the Evergreen Volunteer Fire Department in 1948.

In the following 60 years, the EVFD evolved into Evergreen Fire/Rescue, a 21st-Century emergency response agency with paid and volunteer personnel who responded to 2,135 emergencies in 2007.

That volume of emergencies did not exist in 1948, but enough fires were occurring to motivate Buster and his buddies to establish a fire protection and response agency.

"Buster and the other founding members of the EVFD had the vision and commitment to provide emergency services to the community members of Evergreen some 60 years ago," said EFR Chief Garry DeJong.

A fire that destroyed much of downtown Evergreen in November 1926 provided the impetus for the first form of fire protection in this community. The Mountain Parks Protective Association outfitted a truck with some firefighting equipment, but that crew was no match for a house fire along Upper Bear Creek in the 1940s, nor for the growth the community experienced following the war.

The 46 civic-minded men who founded the EVFD bought a four-wheel drive Dodge Power Wagon and outfitted it with hose and a pump from the State Forestry Department. They built the first fire station along Main Street on a parcel of land donated by Mary Quaintance.

"Their early dedication is an ongoing driving force for the members of Evergreen Fire/Rescue in providing the needed emergency services to our community," Chief DeJong said.

Many years ago Buster and his part of the family moved to Delta, Colorado.

Additional information about Buster and his service to the community, as well as information on his funeral, are forthcoming and will be shared with local media and posted at www.evergreenfirerescue.com.

In the meantime, all of us at Evergreen Fire/Rescue -- current and retired -- extend our warmest condolences to the Anderson family. We're indebted to you, and to Buster.

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

Submitted By: Karen Groves

posted on 1/3/2008 @ 9:53:27 AM

Rated Story

Condolences to the Andersons from a neighbor

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Submitted By: kathy griffiths

posted on 1/3/2008 @ 4:50:51 AM

(Not Rated)

I can remember when the fire siren would go off in the middle of the night - used to scare me to death!

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Showing 1-2 of 2 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Einar Jensen

Evergreen , CO

Einar Jensen has posted 162 stories and 4 comments since joining on 9/21/2005. Einar Jensen 's average story rating is 4.99.

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