Jim Spell was a Starting Hearts board member for many years and tremendous supporter of our organization. He will be truly missed. Jim spent 33 years as a career firefighter with Vail Fire & Emergency Services, the last 20 years as a captain. He was one of the pioneering professionals of the department and assisted in the creation of the first student/resident fire science program west of the continental divide, helped formed the first countywide hazmat response unit, was on the original Colorado Governor’s Safety Committee and created a first responder scholarship for Colorado Mountain College while on the board of Starting Hearts. He earned an associate’s degree in fire science from Colorado Mountain College while helping create the program out of “The A-Frame” by the river.
After retirement from the fire service he consulted as a writer, medic, and safety consultant and with various government and private organizations. Jim provided articles for Lexipol Publishing as a featured columnist where he received six IAFF media awards.
His work can be seen on various websites including FireRescue1, FireChief.com, FireRecruit and the FireRescue1 Academy.
Jim’s wealth of knowledge from the fire service is collected in his two books, BOOT BASICS: A Firefighter’s Guide to the Service®, published in 2019, and Essays for Firefighters: Path to Officership® published in 2023, as well as his podcast The Fair Reach Forum.
Read the complete Vail Daily article here: https://www.vaildaily.com/news/obituaries/obituary-james-spell/
